Whispers of Tomorrow
by RainynDawn
Summary: 3rd and final installment Hermione slowly regains her memories and with that rekindles a love as the war grows steadily closer. Will the love survive? Will they survive? Rating is being downgraded to T.
1. Tahi

**DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, I am not JK Rowling and therefore I cannot claim to own any of this...**

**Tahi**

_July 5, 1997_

Twenty-two hours, twenty-seven minutes, forty three seconds…

The world was slowly spinning around her in an intense haze as she forced her mind to remain focused on the present situation.

Dark…light….dark….

A splatter of rain fell from the heavens above, crashing into her forehead with a thundering echo as she stood up straight in the gloomy landscape of the dark forest.

Light…dark….light….

The trees moved with the wind, swaying in an erotic fashion. Rain, crystal droplets, fell slowly to the hard ground, some catching on a leaf where it hung precariously for a second or two.

Dark…light….dark…

The moon in all its spectacular glory peeked every now and then between the trees as they moved, casting just a slimmer of light on her every now and then. Her eyes blinked against the light.

She wanted darkness…she craved it…she needed it.

Cries filled her ears as she stared into the distance, her eyes empty. Tears no longer lingered in her eye. She had cried her last tear.

Light…dark….light…

Too much. Sometimes it was just all too much. The line between dark and light seemed hazy as did the rest of the world at that moment.

Her knees bent as she slowly collapsed once more to the ground beside of the large oak. She curled them up close, hugging them to her body as she leaned her head back against the rough bark, watching the play of the light through the trees.

Dark…light….dark…

Why was everything judged in light and dark? she wondered as she sat there quietly. Was there no shade of grey where one could easily slide into? Was there no median?

Light….dark….light….

No, the world would never see it like that. You were evil good, light, or evil, dark. They didn't see the in betweens, the ones who straddled the imaginary line drawn.

Empty vessels stared at the dark green plants as the rain started to fall in heavier sheets upon the forest floor. Her hair started to stick to her face, her body shaking involuntarily.

Numb.

So numb. What had happened?

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTlOvEsSpAgHeTtIoS**

_July 4, 1997_

Hermione Granger sipped at the camomile tea her mum had just placed in front of her while her parents flittered nervously about in the house. Sometimes they would pause and look at her for a moment before quickly moving on.

She had just arrived home after spending a whole two hours trying to pry information out of Falco, but he wouldn't give her any. He informed her that if she wanted to know anything, she was to find it out herself.

At the moment, she hated him.

She had gave her parents the brief summary of what had occurred during the past few weeks at Hogwarts and what was going to be expected of her. They didn't like it, she knew that very well, but they accepted it.

She glanced at her parents warily. So far, none of them had broached the topic. Most likely because if it wasn't talked about then it wouldn't happen.

She knew otherwise.

Soon, very soon, she would have to leave and she probably wouldn't return for a long time…if she even returned at all. She was in a war.

She set the tea down on the table beside of the chair and sighed loudly enough to get her parents attention. They both turned, dread in their eyes, and slowly took a seat.

"I know this is difficult for you both," Hermione began slowly, "and it's difficult for me as well, but it is my duty to do this." She looked at them pleadingly. "I have to do this."

Her mum moved forward to grab her hand. "Hermione, dear, you're only seventeen. You shouldn't be asked to do this. You're still a teen, you should be out there enjoying life. They shouldn't expect you to risk your life."

Hermione smiled slightly as she stared into her mother's eyes. "That's the thing, mum. They don't expect it of me, but I need to do this. It's for Harry, mum. He needs me."

There were tears in her mum's eyes as she stared at her daughter. She squeezed her hand a few times before dropping it suddenly and standing, turning her back away from her as she strode quickly to the window.

"Mum," Hermione pleaded softly but Ann held up a hand to stop her. She hung her head slightly as she waited for her parents to say something…anything.

"Hermione," her father started as she shifted uncomfortably in his seat, "you are my baby girl, you always will be." He ran a hand over his face. "I don't think I can ever give my blessing for you to go off and try to get yourself killed if that's what you're asking for."

"Dad, it's a war, I don't know what is going to happen." She stared straight at him, her eyes connecting with his. "But I do know that I can't let Harry do this alone. I'm his friend and he needs me. I'm not asking for your permission or anything else."

He sighed. "You're determined to do this, aren't you?"

Without hesitation, she answered, "Yes."

Mike stood from his chair as well and went to stand behind his wife, placing his hands on her shoulder. He leaned down and whispered something in her ear that Hermione couldn't hear, but she could tell by the stiffening of her mum's spine that she didn't like it.

"Mike," her mum started with an exasperated sigh as she turned her head slightly to look up at him.

"No, Ann," he interrupted quickly. "Don't argue with me on this. You know I'm right."

Hermione waited patiently while her parents conversed with each other. She knew that she most likely wouldn't agree with what they decided, but she knew they didn't agree with what she had decided.

That made them about even.

Finally Mike turned, making Ann come as well when he walked back to the couch to take a seat in front Hermione. They looked at each other for a moment before turning to their daughter.

Mike took his daughter's hand. "Hermione, you know how we feel about this but we also realize that we can't stop you if you're determined to do this. We just want you to promise us that you'll stay safe."

She looked at them sadly as she responded, "I'm afraid I can't promise that. It's a war, no one can predict what's going to happen. It is a possibility that I could die."

Ann drew in a sharp breath and covered her eyes with her hand, her other hand clutching desperately at her husband's. She drew in a few deep breaths before finally calming.

"Hermione," her father started but she quickly interrupted.

"We both know that even if I don't enter this war that there's a chance I'll be killed. They hate me simply because I'm a muggleborn and I'm Harry's best friend. That's enough to put a price on my head. So, I figure if I'm going to die, I might as well be doing something to help the Light side win, right?"

They looked at her, unsure of how they should answer. They were her parents and they really didn't want to think of her dying either way and so they remained silent.

Hermione leaned back in her seat and ran a hand through her hair. "Look, I didn't come here to argue with you over this decision. I just wanted to spend a day or so with you before I have to leave to go meet Harry and Ron."

They stared at her for a moment before nodding slowly in agreement. They knew this was important to her and, in truth, it was important to them too. They didn't know when they would be seeing her again and they only wanted happy memories before she left.

Ann stood and engulfed Hermione in a giant hug, squeezing her tighter than usual. Hermione returned it though with vigour, savouring the feel of being in her mum's arms.

"I love you," Ann whispered into her hair.

"I love you too, mum," Hermione responded, smiling brightly.

Mike smiled at the two of them. Yes, they would be separated but they would always have the memories. That was the important thing.

Or it appeared to be at that moment.

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTlOvEsSqUiRrElS**

The clock in the hall struck eleven as the laughter slowly died down in the sitting room of the Granger household. Three people sat around the large coffee table with a book filled with embarrassing pictures in front of them.

The one they were looking at was a picture of a previous Halloween when Mike decided to dress up as a giant pink flamingo. He looked…ridiculous.

"What possessed you to dress up as a flamingo?" Hermione finally was able to ask when she regained the ability to speak. She was still smiling brightly.

Her father shrugged. "I lost a bet."

"A bet?"

He nodded. "Yep. Do you remember Mark Harper?" Hermione nodded. "Well, me and him were betting on the results of this one football game and I lost…big time."

"You do realize how ridiculous you look?"

"I think that was the point," he said as he quickly turned the page. "Ah, now here is a good one."

The picture in question was of Ann and Hermione when she was only four. They were in the kitchen baking and Hermione had flour all over her.

"Oh Merlin," she said, her face red with embarrassment. "I forgot all about my bad cooking skills. Thanks for reminding me."

"What? You've improved," Ann told her but at Hermione's sharp look, added, "a bit."

"Yeah, I can now boil water without burning it. Oh joy," she said sarcastically causing her father to chuckle and her mother to roll her eyes dramatically.

"I remember the one time when you were six and you were determined to cook your mum a mother's day breakfast," Mike started and Hermione groaned loudly.

"Please dad, let's not rekindle bad memories."

"Wait a minute," Ann spoke up, "I don't remember this. What happened?"

"The reason you don't remember is because I convinced dad at the time that you didn't need to know," Hermione said quickly, shooting a look at her dad which he ignored.

"Well, Hermione snuck into the room and begged me to come and watch her while she made breakfast," Mike explained. "Well, I agreed even though it was four thirty in the morning. I probably wasn't the best supervisor at that time."

Ann scoffed. "Hardly. You almost fall asleep in your oatmeal."

"Anyway, she was mixing stuff together to make pancakes, stuff that you probably don't even want to think about. The batter was this dark orange colour and smelled horrendously." He paused. "And then she poured it into an skillet before I could stop her."

"Oh my," Ann said, stifling a laugh.

Hermione moaned and covered her beet red face with her hands. "Not funny."

Mike was laughing at this point. "The whole kitchen was filled with thick black smoke and this putrid smell. The batter was bubbling as it burnt. I had to buy you a new pan and it took me nearly two hours to remove the smoke and smell from the kitchen."

Hermione shook her head while her parents laughed. Really, she never claimed to be a five-star chef, actually, she never even claimed to be a one-star chef.

But she tried.

"Next picture," she called but before she could flip the page, there was a commotion outside of the house. With a frown, she stood and walked over to the window, her face immediately growing ashen.

"RUN!" she cried frantically even as she turned from the window.

The explosion came too quickly.

Shards of debris flew at them, striking them. Ann was struck in the head with a particularly large piece, causing her to fall to the ground. Mike shoved Hermione into the shadows before running back to his wife.

He checked her pulse before turning desperately to his daughter. "Hide," he ordered, his voice stern. "If you get the chance, you have to run. Take refuge in the old hideout and don't move."

"But dad…"

"Hermione, go!"

With one last glance in his direction, she moved a small cabinet forward and squeezed herself in behind it. She was able to see a small section of the sitting room but she knew they'd be unable to see her.

Footsteps…

Many footsteps thundered into the house and she knew that there was no hope for her parents at this point. Hell, she didn't even know what her chances were.

She never even said goodbye.

"Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Granger, what a pleasure to finally meet you."

She never thought it possible, but her blood ran ice cold at the sound of that voice, one she had only heard once before and that was only briefly.

Voldemort.

"I've been watching you for a while now," he continued, "but I wonder where your daughter is. I know she is in here somewhere."

Hermione scooted a little, trying to hid herself in the darkness. She would die if he found her, but she didn't know if she'd be able to sneak away.

"Who are you and what do you want with my daughter?" Mike Granger demanded. Hermione was proud of him. There was no fear in his voice.

"Well my good sir, I am Lord Voldemort, future ruler of both the wizarding and muggle world." There was a pause here in which Hermione strained to listen to what he said next. "As to what I want with your daughter, well that should be obvious."

"I won't let you kill her!" her father cried.

The Dark Lord laughed sinisterly. "My dear man, do you really think that _you_ could stop me?" The Death Eaters laughed with him. "Besides, whoever said I wanted to kill her."

Her mind shut down automatically as she felt the coldness enter the room. His mind was sweeping the house for her, searching. His mind called to her…

"Come out, Hermione! I know you're here!"

Her body started to shake slightly. Fear was gripping her, controlling her. She must stay put, though, she must fight the fear…

"Don't make me kill your parents, Hermione. Come out and surrender yourself to me and I will spare your parents. How does that sound, hm?"

Her legs started to move on their own accord when she heard her mum start to whimper as she regained consciousness. No, she knew he was lying to her. He would kill them anyways.

And then he would kill her.

"You're sentencing your parents to death, Hermione. Just come out. I have no interest in killing you, actually quite the opposite. This is your last chance."

Silence.

Hermione shut her eyes and steeled herself. She would not, could not move. Her place was beside of Harry for the end of the war and to do that she had to stay alive.

"Very well, Hermione, you're forcing me to do this. _Crucio_!"

Never had she heard a more chilling sound than the sound of her parents screams as they were mercilessly hit with curse after curse. Silent tears fell from her closed eyes as she wrapped her arms tightly around her. Her body shook slightly.

Finally, silence.

Dead, she knew her parents were dead. The two-word curse was whispered twice by the vile man and she knew her parents were on the receiving end.

"You forced me, Hermione!" he called. "I would have spared them like a merciful lord if you would have just surrendered yourself to me!"

She opened her eyes and slowly looked around her at his lie. There was a small hole in the wall that she could crawl through into the next room. Her dad had installed it right after purchasing the house for her to play in. From there she could escape through the window.

It was worth a shot, she reasoned as she started squeezing herself into the tight space. She had very little room to move and yet she knew she had to be careful to not making any noise that could give her away.

"You cannot escape me!" he yelled suddenly and she quickened her pace. She heard him instructing the Death Eaters to search the house thoroughly. She had to hurry….

She sprang out on the other side and hurried to the window. She could hear footsteps coming towards the window…towards her. The window was thankfully open.

She climbed out of the window and took off in a dead run towards the forest not stopping until she was deep within the forest. She found the hideout and collapsed beside a giant oak, the sobs finally escaping her body.

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTlOvEsHeRbEsTfRiEnDkIm**

_July 5, 1997_

It had been one day now and she continued to stay in the hideout by the large oak tree. She knew she should move, but she just couldn't muster the energy to do so.

Dark…

A small squirrel sat on the ground before her, turning a large nut over in its paws. The little beady eyes of the rodent met hers as it still in its movement before the bushy tail quickly disappeared behind a large bush.

Alone once again.

The moon still danced through the trees and the wind still blew slightly, stirring the leaves. The cries were starting to approach her now.

Light…

Brown eyes void of emotion stared at the small light quickly coming towards her. The light would be upon her in a few seconds…

"HERMIONE!"

The voice, sweet huskiness that stirred some foreign emotion within her, called to her. His voice, she knew it now, but why did she feel that way?

Arms wrapped around her, protecting her in a tight embrace. She savoured the safe feeling that swept through her at that moment and allowed herself to sink into the embrace.

"Don't worry," he whispered, "I've got you now."

"I couldn't save them," she muttered, burying her face into his neck. "All I had to do was surrender to him, but I couldn't…I just couldn't…."

He squeezed her tighter to him. "It'll be alright, love. I got you now. Everything is going to be alright."

As he lifted her into his arms, Hermione allowed herself to drift off to the sleep that had been eluding her. Only when she was asleep did her saviour take the time to study her, pressing her closer to him as she stirred slightly.

Pressing a kiss to her forehead, he apparated them away.

**A/N: In this part, there will be some romance! I promise! CROSS MY HEART!!!!!!**

**TWO NOTICES! READ ME! READ ME! IMPORTANT! **

**1) A friend of mine needs a beta for his story. There's quite a lot so you'll have to be dedicated. It's a crossover fic as well. Email or message me and I'll put you into contact with him.**

**2) I need a male writer (sorry ladies) to help me out with a story... I have an idea for a story but I need a male to help write at least half of it. I'll explain it. Please email me (email's on profile page) with a snippet of something and which OLDER HP male you relate to best...**

**Much love,**

**MiZZ AmAyA**


	2. Rua

**DISCLAIMER: Don't own it**

**All bow for my wonderful beta MoonyNZ... She is fan-freakin-tastic (and a wonderful twinsie-winsie too)**

**Rua**

_July 6, 1997_

The smell of bacon sizzling wafted through the house, drifting luxuriously from room to room. Coffee, the bitter sweet aroma followed direly after.

Hermione slowly opened her eyes as the smell reached her, blinking against the onset of light. The room swam before her, slowly straightening once more after a few seconds.

Her first thought was, quite frankly, 'where the bloody hell am I?,' and then she remembered…she remembered laughing with her parents, hiding when the Death Eaters came, the screams as Voldemort tortured her parents, running, and then him.

He had found her.

She set up with a groan, rubbing her forehead as she slowly looked around her. She scrutinized her surroundings, studying everything from how he decorated the walls to the photographs and other little knickknacks that were placed around the room.

She noticed there was nothing really modern in the room. The pictures were of the Marauders, only younger looking, and of Lily and Lauri. There were a few containing a woman.

That was her…

Hermione was startled by the sheltered look in her eyes in some of the pictures. It appeared as if she was guarding some secret, even from Sirius. Brown eyes, shielded eyes.

She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood. She walked over to one of the pictures on the wall and reached out to touch the frame. The woman who was bundled in a heavy black cloak turned slowly to look at her, snow swirling around her.

A smile…

A slow, warm smile broke out on the woman's face as she ignored the bitter crack of the winter wind. Brown connected with brown.

Hermione's eyes connected with the scar that ran down the woman's cheek. Instinctively, her hand reached up to touch her own cheek, feeling smooth, unmarred skin.

"Why are you so familiar?" she whispered as her hand fell from her face. The woman's smile only grew more secretive…haunted.

She turned away, her eyes squeezed shut. The woman was so familiar to her and yet she just couldn't figure it out. Why did she suddenly know her pain?

A touch…

The briefest of touches on her arm startled her, causing her to spin around in fright. Grey eyes filled with worry connected with hers as he caught her arm to keep her from falling.

"Hermione?"

"You startled me," she muttered weakly. "I thought you were…"

Her words died off but he knew what she was going to say. It wasn't that hard to figure out really considering what occurred over the past two days.

His eyes softened as he stepped forward and took her hand. "I'm sorry for startling you, truly I am. I just wanted to check in on you and see whether you were better or not."

She smiled at him, giving his hand a light squeeze. "I'm much better, thank you, Sirius, but I really need to go back home. There are arrangements to be made."

The look on his face at that moment made her uneasy. She didn't like that look at all…

"Hermione, I'm sorry," he started and she immediately withdrew her hand from his, wrapping her arms about her tightly. He sighed. "We think it's best if you just stay here for a while."

"Why?" she asked as tears started to pool in her eyes.

"Voldemort is after you and he is determined to get you. He expects you to be at the funeral and he would try his best to capture you, even at the service."

"They are my parents, Sirius! I can't just not go."

He gripped her shoulders, bringing her closer to him. "Yes, you can. You can mourn from here. For your safety, you're going to have to!"

She tore away from him, walking towards the picture. Picking it up, she saw the woman studying her. She suddenly found herself wishing she had her strength…

She looked up at Sirius. "This is your house, isn't it? The one you used to refuse to sleep in, let alone stay in." She glanced back down at the picture. "This is the house you shared with her, isn't it?"

He nodded. "Yes."

"You loved her, you still do," she stated simply, her eyes unblinking. "Tell me, when she was killed did you lock yourself away and not go to the funeral?"

He stiffened, his hands clenching tightly at his sides. "No," he answered softly.

"So how can you ask that of me?"

"Because your life is in danger whereas mine wasn't," he argued reasonably. "We're only trying to protect you, Hermione. If there was any other way…"

"But there isn't," she finished meekly for him. Her eyes, filled with tears, met his. "I didn't get to say goodbye. Please don't stand in my way of saying my final goodbyes."

That seemed to pain him for some reason as he looked away from her, his eyes going to a small black box in the corner. She watched him carefully.

"I'll see what I can do," he answered finally, his voice strange.

She smiled softly and stepped up to him, grabbing his hand and squeezing it lightly. "Thank you, Sirius. Thank you so much."

He stared at her in an odd way for a moment before breaking away, walking back to the door. "Breakfast is ready if you want some."

She nodded and followed him out, her eyes slowly looking around the large house as they went. She silently memorized the details, her mind reeling with flashes of the house.

The last thing she remember was a younger James and Sirius wrestling over a box of candy on the floor before everything suddenly went black.

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTlOvEsThEpHaNtOm**

One often finds that in dreams one can escape into another world that is mystical and unexplainable. Some dreams of things they wished to be, such as riches, a new job, even a new lover on occasion. Some just dream up possibilities of the days to come.

And then you have the rare dream that makes no sense at all and yet seems familiar.

It is hard to make sense of these dreams, deciphering them can become a 'pulling out the hair' type of experience. The can cause unease until finally they are pegged as "just a dream" and left at that.

But Hermione Granger knew the dreams she was having weren't "just dreams." They were so fantastical and lifelike that there had to be some meaning behind them.

Now all she had to do was figure out what that meaning was.

She sat up in the darkness of the room, glorifying the fact that someone had been kind enough to pull the drapes close so that the austere sun couldn't seep in.

She wanted to sleep, and yet at the same time didn't want to sleep for fear of the dreams she would have once she drifted off.

Basically that left her to just sitting in bed, staring off into space.

She knew Sirius was still in the house; she could hear him moving about downstairs. Occasionally she would hear a pop and know that someone had just apparated in, and then she would hear the sound of disapparation.

To continue sitting here or to go find Sirius? That was a very good question.

Hermione rolled her head from side to side for a few moments before finally rising from the bed. She was bored and it wouldn't do to continue to sit there if she had no book to read.

She strolled around the room a few times, picking up an object every now and then before moving on. She had just picked up the small black box when the door opened and Sirius walked in.

"Hermione?"

She turned and smiled sweetly at him. "Hello, Sirius. I was just looking around, I hope you don't mind."

He hesitated for a moment, his eyes flickering to the box in her hand before shrugging. "No, go ahead and look. It's just a bunch of old stuff."

She stared at him incredulously. "It's memories, Sirius, and I think you care a lot more than you're letting on."

He smiled at her savagely. "You caught me, Hermione, I do care. Actually, I care a great deal but what does it matter? You plan on looking the second my back is turned anyway."

She stared at him stonily for a second, meeting his gaze head on. Slowly, she turned and placed the box back onto the shelf, muttering, "You're right, I'm sorry. I have no right to pry into your personal life. Forgive me."

He sighed and took a step towards her. "No, I'm the one that is sorry, I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. It's just been a long day."

She smiled weakly. "And then you have to take care of me on top of that."

He smiled genuinely and took another step. "That's no problem at all."

She paused for a moment before returning his smile. She then turned and opened the drapes, letting the light flood the room. She closed her eyes for a moment, feeling the warmth of the sun's light on her skin.

She felt rather than heard him approach her. He stopped directly behind her, staring at a point over her shoulder. She figured he was lost in his memories judging by his sudden stillness.

"She used to do this some mornings when the sun was first rising," he whispered. "She would come over here and throw open the blinds, her eyes simply staring while her mind floated a million miles away."

She turned to stare at him, waiting for him to go on. "I never figured out what was on her mind until after she died," he finished in a soft, pained voice.

"Was this your room?"

He looked down at her and smiled. "Yes, it was."

"Then I shouldn't be in here," she said in a rush, moving to brush by him but he caught her arm. "Yes, you should," he said. "I haven't stayed in this room for a long time." He smiled. "Can you believe that this is the first time I've actually stood in it since her death?"

"It's not healthy to not move on, Sirius. Everyone needs closure, and I don't think you got yours. I think you need to find it."

His lips pursed and his gaze flickered back to the window. She watched him closely, her eyes slowly moving over his facial features before moving lower. She felt stir low in her belly as her eyes took their time looking over him.

As her eyes ran back up to his face, she found him watching her. She blushed and looked away, embarrassed at being caught. A single digit under her chin brought her face back to look up at him.

"You're right," he said, "I do need closure, and I think I am finding it. It's just taking me longer than usual. The closure I am receiving isn't the normal kind."

Her forehead crinkled as she considered what he could possibly mean. He laughed softly, brushing a wild curl from her face. "Don't worry about it."

She nodded, turning away from him and back towards the window. "Sirius…," she hesitated, unsure as to whether she wanted to share or not.

"Yes?"

She turned back to him, staring up into his grey eyes. Smiling slightly, she responded with a simple, "Nothing," and a mild shrug of her shoulder.

His eyes scanned her before he simply said, "Come on, let's go get you some breakfast."

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTlOvEsChEeZiTZ**

_July 10, 1997_

The fire burned low in the fireplace as the night wore on, the clock striking midnight. The fireplace was magically spelled so that a log would occasionally float into it, stirring the flames back to life.

The man sitting in front of it cradled a bottle of fire whisky in his left hand, a picture in his right. Occasionally his gaze would flicker down to the picture and then he would take another large gulp of the fiery liquid from the bottle.

His black hair hung slightly in his face as he tilted his head down. His body was relaxed and tense at the same time as his mind reeled with memories of the past.

_The fireplace on the other side of the room was lit and there sat Hermione, a small figure huddled up in an overly large fleece blanket. She looked so small to him, though he could not stop the small smile at how cute she looked just then._

"_You can come on in," Hermione said, startling him. She turned her head slightly and smiled at him. "I don't bite, you know."_

_He chuckled, "Not hard anyways, right?"_

_Hermione shared his laughter. "Not hard," she agreed and patted the space on the rug beside of her. She watched as he slowly approached and took the seat beside of her._

_Hermione wrapped half of her blanket around his shoulders after conjuring them both up a steaming cup of hot chocolate with a heaping amount of marshmallows on top._

_He smiled in content as he sipped at the warm liquid and watched Hermione doing the same, a bit of marshmallow sticking to the tip of her nose. "You're getting that all over you," he laughed as he stuck out a finger and wiped it off her nose._

_Hermione blushed and smiled. "I've always loved this stuff, however, I always somehow manage to make myself look like a complete idiot while drinking it."_

_He leaned closer to her and bumped her lightly. "I thought you looked cute, just like a little girl who can't wait to drink it all up."_

_Hermione rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless. "Great, I remind you of a child…"_

"_A cute child," he interrupted, grinning charmingly at her. She laughed and he joined her as they both raised their mugs in a silent salute and drank deeply._

He threw back his head as he took another large gulp. His mind flew from that memory to the young woman currently sleeping upstairs in _his_ bed.

_Sirius stared at the front door, wishing she would just come back. He knew he had went about it the wrong way. Instead of protecting her, he had distanced himself from her._

_And now he had possibly lost her. No, she would come back, she had to. She loved him and he…he couldn't live without her. She had to come back to him._

_Why did he have to lose control? Why did he put that spell on her? Why had he let her walk out on him like that without discussing it?_

_The questions continued to run through his mind as the hours ticked by. He had to look for her, it was as simple as that. He needed to find her and apologize._

_As soon as he threw open the door to rush out, he saw her. She was standing on the doorstep with the suitcase in her hand and a contemplating look on her face._

_Without a second thought, he pulled her into his arms where she rested willingly. He silently swore that he would never let her get away again…_

He hadn't been able to keep that promise. In the end he had lost her.

The bottle was empty now and he frowned at it. That was his last bottle and quite frankly he could do with another one…or two. Yes, two would be lovely.

There was a soft pop followed shortly by another just behind him but he didn't even bother turning around. He knew exactly who it was visiting him. They had been showing up periodically throughout the day to 'check up on him' though they never said it.

"Sirius?"

It was Remus that posed the silent question, though Sirius was sure that James was wanting to ask the same thing.

"I'm fine," he spat out, reclining in the couch with his eyes tightly closed.

He felt the couch depress beside of him and knew it was James who had sat down beside of him. "No you're not Pads," he said softly, "so stop pretending and better yet, stop drinking."

He only opened his eyes when he felt the bottle being ripped from him and that was only to glare at the thief- Remus. "That's alright, it was empty anyways," he muttered darkly.

A grin creased the werewolf's face as he perched lightly on the arm of the couch. "Come on, Sirius, why don't you just go ahead and let it all out. You know you're going to sooner or later."

The grey eyed man rounded angrily on them, standing so suddenly that he shocked them both. "What do you want me to say?" he demanded. "I have Hermione bloody Granger lying upstairs in my bed and she doesn't know a damn thing! Do you expect me to be happy? Do you expect me to pour my pitiful heart out to her?"

"No," James answered, standing as well, "but you can't just pretend as if nothing is wrong when everyone knows there damn well is!"

"Shut up, James, you have no idea what you're talking about," Sirius growled.

"Don't I?" his best friend demanded. "Do you think you're the only one who isn't reminded of the past and what we lost when you look at her? No, we all remember, Sirius, and we all hurt because of it."

"It's not the same!" Sirius cried, surprised to find his eyes tearing up slightly.

"No," Remus spoke up softly, "it isn't, but because of that you need to let us help you."

Sirius shook his head a few times before turning towards the fireplace, bracing himself against the mantle. "I can remember everything and I hate not understanding."

Remus walked up behind him and laid a hand on his friend's shoulder in a comforting gesture. "That's to be expected, Sirius."

Sirius rested his forehead against the mantle, allowing the heat from the flames to warm his body. "I just…I just want to know, you know? I need to know."

James and Remus exchanged a look, understanding perfectly what their friend was talking about. On the staircase, Hermione rested her head against the wall, wondering what was bothering her saviour so.

**A/N: So very very sorry that it took me so long to get this up. I was on Spring Break and didn't have internet on my computer. This story is pickin' up...I haven't finished it yet but I'm working on it.**

**Thanks for reading...I'm still looking for a male writer to help me if anyone is interested... I'm looking for someone who can relate to an older male...not so much Remus 'cause I don't know whether he'd fit into the story I have in mind...**

**Much love,**

**MiZZ AmAyA**


	3. Toru

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of this...**

**HAPPY BIRTHDAY MELLIE! THIS ONE IS FOR YOU! **

**Toru **

_July 12, 1996_

The sound of the zipper was the only sound in the quiet room. Hermione stood in front of the large mirror as she zipped up the black dress, her eyes red and puffy from crying.

Today was the day…

She allowed her hand to drop to her side as her other hand rose to grip it. Her eyes stared stonily back at her from the mirror, cold and empty.

Today she had to say goodbye.

The door opened slowly and Sirius walked in, coming to stand behind her. His eyes met hers in the mirror, not breaking away as he rose his hand to rest on hers.

"It's alright to cry, Hermione," he whispered in her ear.

She smiled slightly as she turned her head to look at him over her shoulder. "I think I'm completely out of tears at the moment."

He frowned slightly as he continued to stare at her. Slowly, he moved forward so he could wrap his arms around her, squeezing her tightly. "It'll all work out," he promised.

She nodded and turned in his arms, resting her head against his chest. "Stay with me today," she pleaded softly, her hands looping around him, "please."

He ran his hand over her hair and sighed, lying his cheek against her head. "I'm not going to leave you."

She pulled away, turning to look at herself again in the mirror. She ran her hands over her dress, smoothing out the fabric. "Alright, I'm ready…I think."

"I'll be with you the entire time," he assured her. "I'm going to have to cast some illusion charms on us, though. No one there will be able to recognize us then which should keep you safe."

She attempted a smile. "So, who will we be?"

"Just a man and a woman going to pay our last respects," he answered, drawing his wand out. With a wave of the piece of wood, she felt her appearance changing as a warm sensations settled over her.

Black hair and green eyes stared back at her from the mirror. She was just a bit taller than normal and her hair was more curly than before. She touched her face.

Turning around to look at Sirius, she felt an odd pang of sorrow at seeing him looking differently. His hair was considerably shorter though still the same dark colour. His eyes were a startling amber which contrasted beautifully against his tanned skin.

He held out his hands, inviting her inspection. "Do I pass?" he asked softly.

She didn't have to think about her response and said instantly, "Yes."

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTlOvEsLaWnMoWeRrAcInG**

The funeral was over in a matter of hours. If anyone had thought it strange for two people who they had never seen before to be there at the funeral, they didn't say anything. In fact, most seemed to not even notice their presence there.

Hermione remained strong throughout the entire funeral. every time she thought she would start crying, Sirius would reach out and clutch her hand. That small comfort helped her more than he would ever know.

At the end, he pulled her back away from the crowd, allowing them to pass by. They stood by an old grave as they waited patiently for everyone to clear off. The caskets were slowly lowered into the ground as they stood there, the workers filling the graves back in.

When finally the last person left the cemetery, the two of them made their way over to the graves of her parents, staring silently at the tombstone. He allowed her to walk ahead of him a bit, giving her the time alone she needed.

Hermione knelt on the fresh dirt, not caring about ruining her dress as she stared at the names of her parents on the cold marble. Silently, she reached forward and traced the letters, her mouth slowly forming the words.

"Hey mum, dad," she started slowly after her finger reached the end of their names, "it's me, Hermione." She laughed mentally at her own stupid rambling and cursed the tears forming at her eyes.

She knew what she had to say…wanted to say, but the words were hard to force out. "I'm sorry," she whispered softly, "I'm sorry that I couldn't save you."

She looked down at the ground, tears pooling from her eyes. Lifting her head back up, she stared straight at the words 'loving parents.'

"I should have been able to protect you. I should have stayed behind with you and helped you. I should have surrendered to him and you wouldn't be dead. I should have…"

The quiet sound of her heartbreaking roared in her ears and she collapsed on the ground, her body sprawled out across the graves. Over and over again, she muttered her apology.

Sirius watched as she broke down, her grief and guilt weighing her down considerably. He took a step forward, and then another, silently closing the distance between them.

When he was close to her, he bent down and touched her cheek, feeling wetness against his skin. "Hermione," he said to draw her attention to him but she didn't pay any mind to him. Clearing his throat, he repeated in a much firmer tone, "Hermione, look at me."

Slowly, she moved her head to stare up at him, the sight of her red eyes nearly breaking her heart. "Hermione, you need this. Remember what you told me, everyone needs closure."

"I failed them," she whispered, moving into his embrace. "I failed them when they needed me most. I could have saved them."

As he soothed her, he whispered, "Everything happens for a reason, Hermione. Someone once taught me that life is weaved in a mysterious patter and one small ripple can affect the whole thing. However, it always provides us with two paths and it is us who must choose the one to go down."

She nodded against his chest and he sighed. "I'll make a deal with you," he said finally. "If you help me with the closure I need, I'll help you."

She froze in his arms and for a minute he thought she was going to refuse him. But she pulled back, her eyes meeting his, and nodded her agreement.

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTlOvEsBaMbOoPlAnTsCaUsEtHeYdOnTdIeEaSiLy**

_July 18, 1996_

Hermione sat at the desk in Sirius' study, studying a wide array of books on various topics, none of which she would be able to find in the Hogwarts library. These books mainly consisted of things dealing with the Dark Arts and vary controversial topics.

She loved them.

Sirius was somewhat hesitant when she approached him yesterday to ask him whether she could read them. He tried to talk her out of it without seeming to do so and only managed to peak her interest more.

He had given in after much begging on her part.

She was currently reading a book dealing with dark creatures not normally discussed or known about. These creatures were so rare and dangerous that the Ministry just ignored them all together basically and tried to exterminate them whenever they came on the scene.

She had just read about some creature in the highlands that could breath fire and could do what could only be described as 'ghosting.' Basically it could separate its molecules so that it could pass through solid objects, including people.

She turned the page, fully intending on pursuing the subject at a later date, when there was a light but insistent tap on the window. She looked up and found the amber eyes of Hedwig staring at her through the glass.

She quickly rose and rushed to the window to let the bird in. It had been quite a while since she had last heard from Harry and she was anxious to hear what they had to say. Hedwig held out her leg and Hermione extracted the parchment, unrolling it quickly.

_Hermione,_

_I can't say exactly where we are for obvious reasons but I just wanted to let you know that Ron and I are safe at the moment. We found another one and successfully destroyed it. However, recent reports have made us a bit edgy and so we decided to come back for a bit._

_I can't say everything I wish to say in here in case this letter gets intercepted. I doubt Hedwig would ever let anyone catch her but you never know. I do need you to do something for me though. Will you get the gang together and meet me at the place where the weapon is at the time of meeting?_

_All will be explained then,_

_Harry_

Hermione lowered the letter and frowned. What in the world did he mean? Of course she knew that he couldn't speak plainly but still…

Oh.

Sudden realization hit her as she rushed over to the desk to grab some parchment to round up Ginny, Declan, and Rachel. She considered talking to Sirius about it but decided against it. He would try to keep her out of any trouble and, if she knew Harry, there would probably be some sort of trouble to be involved in tonight.

She only hoped they didn't get into _too_ much trouble.

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTlOvEsWoLvEs**

Sirius was acting strange.

Yes, she noticed the way he make jerky movements around her all day that he was hiding something. Of course she was hiding something from him as well so she really had no right to judge.

Still…

Something was up and her natural curiosity wanted to know what. It wasn't just his manner either, though that was suspicious enough. No, it was also the fact that random Order members would occasionally drop in without explanation.

Yes, something was up.

No matter, if they were preoccupied then surely they wouldn't notice her and the others slipping out. Actually, this sort of worked out great for them, event though she still wanted to know what was up.

At half past seven, Hermione checked the house for any sign of Sirius before slipping out, apparating once she was a safe distance away. The plan was for her to go pick up Declan while Ginny retrieved Rachel and they would all meet on the outskirts of Hogsmeade.

She was gracious when she saw the young Lupin sitting outside of the main gate waiting for her. He looked a bit preoccupied with his thoughts and she soon discovered that his father and mother had been acting strangely as well.

Something was nagging her brain but she ignored it. Right now they needed to go meet the others at Hogsmeade so they could then hurry on to Hogwarts.

Ginny and Rachel were waiting for them at Hogsmeade. After a short discussion, they discovered that all of their parents had been acting strange…strange for them that is. Something was going down with the Order tonight and they could only hope that it was far, far away.

Luck was not on their side, though, for shortly after they arrived at the edge of the Forbidden Forest where they were to meet Harry, they saw figures in the distance approaching at a rapid pace.

The Order.

Harry and Ron emerged from the forest behind them and paused in the greeting, their eyes staring at the approaching adults. "What are they doing here?" Harry asked.

Hermione turned and shook her head in a way of saying 'I don't know.' They each watched and waited as the adults approached them.

It was McGonagall who spoke first. "What are you children doing here? Harry? Ron?" Her eyes scanned the group. "Go to the castle at once and stay there."

Harry stepped forward. "Afraid we can't, Professor. There's a Horcrux in there that needs to be destroyed and I aim to do it."

She gave an aggrieved sigh and said, "What do you think we are here for, Mr. Potter? Now please, all of you go up to the castle and wait…"

"No."

The one syllable word stopped the Headmistress as the whole group swung around to face Hermione. Never before had she said no to a Professor.

"Miss Granger?"

"Harry, Ron, and I are of age and can make our own decisions as to whether we walk into that forest or not. Also, I wager if you tried to deny Ginny she'll sneak in there so you might as well let us go. I agree that Declan and Rachel should not be included though."

Sirius stepped forward. "I'd rather you not go, Hermione. You should be home resting…"

"I'm not a porcelain doll that is going to break if you touch me," she argued fiercely. "I have every intention of going in there and finding that Horcrux."

"Me too," Ginny said defiantly, looking pointedly at her parents.

"And me too," Harry said instantly which raised more protest than the other two.

Lily and James, looking uncomfortable, stepped forward. "Harry, dear," Lily started slowly, "you know the prophecy that concerns you. The reason we all came tonight is because we received some reports on some dangerous beasts that Voldemort set loose in there to prevent us from getting to the Horcrux."

"What your mother is trying to say is that we'd rather you just wait in the castle and we'll bring the Horcrux out for you to destroy," James reasoned with his son. "Please stay and guard your sister."

Ron laid a hand on Harry's shoulder. "They're right, we have to keep you alive or we're screwed." His attempts at a joke worked as Harry and a few others cracked smiles. "I'll stay up there with you. Besides, if anyone can find a Horcrux, it's Hermione."

Harry finally nodded and agreed. The group watched as him, Ron, Declan, and Rachel made their way up to the castle before turning towards the two girls.

"We're not leaving," Ginny said, crossing her arms. "We're going with you."

McGonagall sighed. "Very well since I doubt we'll be able to talk either of you out of it though I do wish you'd reconsider."

Both girls instantly said, "No," before turning and heading into the Forbidden Forest with the adults following slowly behind. Each had their wands out for there were dangerous surprises that awaited anyone who dared to enter the dark domain.

Hermione was careful to avoid stepping on any fallen twigs or branches as they made their way deeper into the forest. The less sound they made, the better. She didn't really want to find out what sort of creatures Voldemort had let loose in here.

They had been walking for roughly thirty minutes when she heard it. A low growl was coming from somewhere near them, slowly moving closer. She stopped, holding up her hand for the others to as well.

Someone lit there wand and what met her eyes was nothing short of frightening. "RUN!" she screamed as they all took off. Because they were considerably smaller and in the lead, Hermione and Ginny were behind the adults as they each rushed to get out of the forest.

The redhead gave a startled cry and she turned her head, watching as the shadows approached her friend. She stopped, lifting her wand as her mind searched for a possible answer as to how to deal with the creature.

Memories flooded her, happy memories. Everything that had ever brought her any joy rushed to the front of her mind, filling her thoughts. There, at the very front, stood Sirius, a younger version, kissing her underneath a sprig of mistletoe as a younger version of James whooped.

No, that couldn't be real…

Shaking her mind, she tried desperately to get a grip on the situation as she heard Ginny whimpering, though she didn't sound very distressed.

A flash…darkness, white eyes…a young woman stood shaking as her wand pointed at a shadow creature, words escaping from her lips as a class watched.

Hermione's eyes snapped open as she lifted her wand quickly, pointing it at one that was rushing towards her. "_Opaculupus Abeo!_"

A stream of bright white and blue light left the tip of her wand and struck the creature right between its electric white eyes, sending it reeling. The shadow slowly disappeared as the light ate it.

But she was too late.

They left her alone and quickly descended on Ginny, her body disappearing into the shadows. No tears fell from her eyes as she rushed forward where Ginny's body had disappeared and collapsed on the ground.

She hadn't been able to save her…just like she hadn't been able to save her parents.

She had failed Ginny. She had failed her parents. Was this how her life was going to continue on going? She was supposed to be the brightest witch of her age and yet she couldn't save those that she loved.

Tender arms scooped her from the ground and held her tight in an embrace. She buried her head against his chest, recognizing his scent and allowing herself to sink in it for a moment or two.

He knew that the only thing she needed at that moment was comfort. She had already lost all her tears and now she just needed to accept, but accepting was a hard thing to do.

She felt the change in the atmosphere and knew that they had exited the Forbidden Forest. When they were a safe distance away, he sat her down on the ground and allowed her to curl up, staring up into the sky at the stars.

"I tried," she whispered to him, her hand locking around his.

He nodded and squeezed her hand lightly, "I know."

Ginevra Weasley was listed as a casualty of the war the next day, the memorial service for her huge as students from Hogwarts flocked the school grounds to pay their last respects.

As Hermione stood close to the front between Ron and Harry, she silently vowed that she would make a difference in this war. She would discover what the secret was behind her eyes and what the flashes meant.

Looking over at Sirius, she made a silent promise that she would find it all out.

**She had to die folks. I stated in CY that she died so it had to happen in this one as well. Thanks to Rachel for beta-ing. She's wonderful folks. Sorry to make you guys wait so long for these but I stay busy all week until Friday.**

**HAPPY BIRTHDAY MELLIE DEAR!**

**Much love,**

**MiZZ AmAyA**


	4. Wha

**DISCLAIMER: Sorry to disappoint, but I must admit that I do not own Harry Potter. I know, I know, it's a tragedy...**

**Wha**

_July 19, 1997_

Hermione surveyed the ingredients set out on the long table before her. She had discovered the ingredients in a storage cupboard during one of her searches of the house. She also found the room she was currently in which appeared to be an old potion making room. She only hoped that Sirius didn't mind her using it _too_ terribly.

She pulled her hair back into a tight bun as she walked around to the small burner. She struck a match, lighting the burner and heaving the large cauldron over top of the flames. That done, she pulled back and removed her overcoat. It was bound to get hot and she despised getting all sweaty.

She moved back to the table and scooped up some of the ginger roots and inserted them into the cauldron. She would have to let them set for eight minutes so that the juices could cook out of them. In the meantime, she could prepare the other ingredients.

She grabbed a slicing knife and a long strip of dragon hide. Carefully, she cut smaller strips about one centimetre in width and twelve centimetres in length. That done, she moved on to the black beetle eyes, smashing them in a pewter dish.

She carefully spread the smashed mixture onto the strips of dragon hide and rolled them like one would do a sleeping bag. Then, she dropped them into a bowl of salamander blood to allow them to soak for ten minutes.

She checked the ginger roots and found them to be drained of the juices. She removed the dry roots, leaving the juice in the cauldron, and placed them off to the side. She then grabbed up a handful of fluxweed and added it to the cauldron.

She stirred the mixture for nine minutes until she could add the dragon hide rolls. She placed them in one at a time, carefully stirring clockwise once between each one. When she had added seven, she peered into the cauldron- a dark red.

Good, she was right on track.

Next she inserted four drops of erumpent fluid, waiting until all the steam had rolled off before dropping in two doxy eggs. She stirred that for two minutes while pouring a gradual flow of pomegranate juice into the cauldron.

Green- almost ready.

She would have to let it sit for six minutes now before adding the final ingredient. She waited the allotted time and then added a whole flask of belladonna extract.

Black, the darkest shade imaginable- perfect.

Hermione removed the cauldron from over the flames and set it off to the side to cool for ten minutes. She wiped the sweat away from her forehead. Though the potion was relatively quick to make, it was a tedious task because if you did one thing wrong, the effects could be fatal.

She had full confidence in herself, though. Well, she was sure she knew that she had it right. After all, she had seen Snape make the same potion last year, though he hadn't known she had been watching him.

She unbuttoned a few of the buttons on her shoulder and walked over to the small window, gazing out at the grounds. She would have to be quick about this if she didn't want Sirius to find her and stop her for she was pretty sure he would try to do just that.

The timer went off. It was time to see whether she was at good at potions as she had previously thought. If she wasn't, it'd probably cost more than she'd care to pay.

She dipped the ladle into the potion and filled a plain cup to the rim. The mixture gave off a foul smell and was steaming still. She wasn't fooled. Some argued that things that looked foul tasted good and pretty things tasted foul. Not so, she thought. She usually found that foul looking things tasted just that- foul.

Closing her eyes, she tipped the cup back and drank the entire content before she could stop. When it was completely drained, she found herself shocked. It tasted of the sweetest form of chocolate one could possibly ever find.

And then the tingly sensation shot through her, causing her body to lock up and her eyes to glaze open as the cup clattered to the floor, echoing in the small room. Her body collapsed on her as her mind whirled with one memory after another…

_A lone woman was walking down the corridor, the same woman who appeared in the pictures with Sirius. There came an excited shriek that caused the woman to groan and force a smile upon her lips before turning to greet the cheerful place of Hogwarts' resident Potion Master, Horace Slughorn._

"_Hello, Professor Slughorn," she said in an all to pleasant voice, but of course Slughorn didn't notice the falseness in her greeting._

_He greeted her with a large grin. "I have been trying my hardest to talk to you since I first heard that you came here but you are a very hard person to track down."_

_She bit her lips as she about said, 'Maybe because I've been avoiding you,' and instead said, "I'm very sorry, Professor, that you've went to all that trouble to find me and now that you have that I have no time to talk. I must really be off…."_

o-o

_The woman was now walking down the corridor with Albus Dumbledore. They came to the gargoyle that guarded his office and she waited while he stated the password._

_They allowed the steps to spiral them upward, the silence descending upon them as they travelled to his office. As the steps stopped, she turned to look at the mahogany door with the white phoenix door knocker that seemed to be blazing with fury._

"_It can detect loss," Dumbledore informed her. "Though you are most likely to find a red phoenix, the white phoenix does exist and their powers are slightly different."_

"_Different?" the woman asked softly, still gazing at the white bird that was now beating its' wings, white and gold flames shooting from the tips. The phoenix's blazing gold eyes looked as if they, too, were on fire._

"_The white phoenix, so rare that it is, can detect a death that is too early for their time. It is rumoured that if a white phoenix flies above the grave of one who died before their time before they are laid to rest in the ground or cast on fire," Dumbledore went on, "that the dead will rise once again, so powerful are the tears."_

o-o

_The woman was with Sirius this time. They were standing in front of the wall that would produce the Room of Requirements. She waited while he walked back and forth three times in front of the wall, his head towards the floor. The door appeared suddenly and Sirius glanced at it unsure, clearly not knowing whether he wanted to go in anymore or not._

_She waited patiently, but he stood still. With a sigh, she brushed past him and took a hold of the doorknob, turning it quick and fast before he could stop her. But as the door opened, Hermione stopped, her eyes wide._

_She took a small step into the room, looking about her in amazement. She took a slow breath, letting it out slowly, her mouth turning up at the sides slightly. Her fingers outstretched, afraid to touch anything in the room._

_As she stepped into the very centre of the room, she turned slowly to Sirius, her eyes filled with unshed tears. "Did you do this?" she asked softly, her voice trembling._

_He stared at her as if he was afraid he had done something wrong and slowly nodded his head, taking a small step towards her almost timidly. She saw the fear in his eyes, the fear that she would hate it, the fear that she would reject him._

_She let her eyes roam over the endless amount of books that lined the walls in tall, mahogany bookshelves. Also adorning the walls were photographs, some of them the same ones that had appeared that day that Sirius had brought her to her perfect world here. Others, however, were of them, the Marauders and her. _

o-o

_The woman was walking down a corridor in Hogwarts. The windows showed that it was still dark outside. She looked a little older now, and a little wiser._

"_You look a little worse for wear."_

_Startled, the woman looked around, taking in her surroundings. "Hello Falco."_

"_You don't sound too thrilled for a girl madly in love," he commented with a knowing glance. The woman frowned with a glint in her eyes._

"_Cut the small talk, Falco. I know you've heard, though I honestly have no idea how you could have, so why don't you just get to the point and say what you want to say."_

_He looked at her and smiled. "Good job."_

_She stared at him, dumbstruck. "Good job?" she repeated._

"_Yes, I totally agree with what you did."_

"_You do?"_

"_Yes, of course I do. He had no right to order you to stay home." He shook his head disbelievingly. "The nerve of him to freeze you to your own couch like that while he went off to fight."_

_She automatically opened her mouth to defend Sirius and stopped. "You are a wicked, vile man Falco Aesalon," she alleged, her eyes narrowing as she stood with her hand on her hips._

o-o

"_Did you and Black get into it again? Pity, I always thought that you could do better than him anyways."_

_The woman almost smiled at the sound of the voice, ignoring the comment he made about Sirius. He was making her job too easy. "Actually, no. I just felt like getting out and we are doing just fine, thank you." _

_She heard him made a disapproving sound in his throat and did smile. She also heard him order a shot of red currant rum from Tom who immediately had it sitting before him._

_She turned her head to the side to stare into the icy eyes of Lucius Malfoy. "You and Narcissa get into it?"_

_He shook his head and shot back the rum in one swing, swallowing the liquid quickly before ordering another. "Draco is almost a year old and he still cries constantly."_

_She grinned at him and even managed a soft chuckle as she refrained from patting him on the shoulder. "He'll cry for a while, Lucius. In fact, he'll probably whine the rest of his life, always wanting something. That's how kids are."_

_He shook his head again and signalled for a third drink. "I told her that we weren't having anymore. I have an heir, I don't need any more."_

_She watched as he quickly tossed back another one. "You might change your mind one day," she said even as she realized that he never would._

"_No," he replied adamantly. "Never in a million years will I ever have another child. Narcissa is just going to have to accept that."_

_She smiled at him. "What are you doing here, Lucius?"_

_He smirked. "Actually, I'm here because you have been sitting here for two and a half hours waiting for me to show up so that you could follow me around like the Ministry instructed you to do."_

o-o

_It was dark outside and the woman was running towards something. She rounded the side of one house and pulled to a stop quickly. Before her stood no less than twenty Death Eaters and Voldemort himself. They were gathered in a graveyard beside of the village, the mists swirling around their feet._

_Before Voldemort was two Death Eaters, bowing low before their lord. He had his wand extended towards them and they looked as if they were about to fall over. His red eyes were trained on them as he talked in a low, menacing voice._

_Then, his red eyes snapped up to meet hers and she knew that he had sensed her there, though he could not see her. He snapped at his Death Eaters and they hurriedly disappeared into the darkness, disapparating back to their homes._

_When they were the only two left, he allowed his wand arm to drop down to his side. "Come out, Hermione, we are alone."_

_She allowed the Disillusion charm to drop and stepped out of the shadows. When she came to the edge of the graveyard, she stopped. "Not exactly the most lovely of places to hold meetings," she said steadily as she left her wand in his sight._

"_Might not be," he returned, "but you must admit that no one would ever expect that I, Lord Voldemort, would hold his meetings in a graveyard."_

"_You'd be surprised."_

_He swept his arm forward to indicate that she should come into the graveyard. She only hesitated a second before stepping forward and through the short fence that enclosed it._

"_I'm actually surprised that you are here," he said after a moment. He began to walk slowly towards her, his steps slow and yet threatening. "It's not everyday that I have an influential Ministry member show up here during a meeting."_

"_Maybe you should rethink your location. People are noticing the strange occurrences happening here and have reported it." _

"_And so they sent one Auror to investigate," he said, his voice full of amusement as his red eyes landed on her, measuring her. "What kind of employers intentionally send their best fighter out on a dangerous mission that could result in death?"_

_She appeared as if she was fighting back a laugh. "Are you serious? Do you not see the similarity between the Ministry and yourself?"_

"_Actually, Hermione, we are completely different. For one, my followers are not my employees. They do what I wish willingly without any promised compensation." He strode closer to her and reached out one hand to capture a lose tendril blowing slightly in the breeze beside her ear. "Second, even though I do send my Death Eaters out to perform dangerous tasks, I never send them alone."_

_He was right, she realized. He had never sent a Death Eater in alone to complete a mission for him…never. So what did that mean?_

"_I wonder," he said slowly, wrapping the wild curl around his finger, "what you did to make them mad. Perhaps you protested one too many times, eh?"_

_He leaned in closer. "The only question left is- who did you piss off?"_

_And with that, he disapparated from the graveyard, leaving her alone._

o-o

Hermione woke up with a startled gasp, her eyes wide. There were many more memories before the last but it was the one that stuck in her mind.

Her eyes alerted her to a movement in the far corner of the room and she found Sirius leaning against the wall merely watching her. She met his gaze but didn't dare to move.

"Sirius?" she questioned after a few moments when he didn't move or speak.

He didn't say anything for a moment or two as he lowered his eyes to the floor, his arms crossed over his chest. "You shouldn't have done that."

She looked away, unexplained tears prickling at the back of her eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispered softly, though she wasn't completely sure as to what she was apologizing for.

He didn't say anything as he shoved off the wall and stalked out of the room. She didn't look at him, she didn't move- she just sat there drowning in her tears.

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTlOvEsToSiNgOfFkEy**

_July 26, 1997_

Hermione and Sirius entered a silent dance, tactfully going about their business while avoiding each other as much as humanly possible. If she fixed the meals, she would leave him some out and he would do the same if he fixed the meal.

When he was meant to pass on a message, he would leave a short note on her door. Usually, though, she received all her information by owl since she was still getting updates from Harry.

Him and Ron had went out to find the rest of the Horcruxes without her…again. She didn't know whether they had purposefully left her behind or if someone had told them to. Either way, she was a bit miffed at them.

The hardest thing was probably the fact that she had no one to talk to. She wanted to discuss the dreams she viewed; she wanted answers.

But Sirius didn't appear as if he was going to. In fact, he seemed rather determined to just ignore the entire situation all together.

Well, she wasn't prepared to put up with his moping any longer. She needed to get out of there before she went completely insane. And that is how she found herself up in her room while Sirius was away at an Order meeting, packing a travel bag with some clothes and toiletries.

She just wanted a temporary break after all, not to leave completely.

She closed the bag and listened carefully for any sign of his return. Hearing none, she snuck down the stares and headed straight towards the sitting room where the fireplace was located.

So far so good. It appeared as if she might actually get out of there without him knowing. With them avoiding each other, he was bound not to notice her gone for a couple days and by then she'd probably be ready to return.

She looked around for the floo powder. _Damn him_, she cursed mentally, he had moved it! He probably had it hid somewhere so that she--

Wait, she was a witch! _Bloody brilliant, Hermione_, she chided herself as she drew her wand and said clearly, "_Accio Floo Powder_."

The large jar flew out of a small cupboard in the corner and into her awaiting hand. She carefully extracted a handful before replacing the jar.

She glanced around the room once again to make sure that there was nothing to give away the fact that she had left. Clean. Good, maybe she would get at least two good days in before he would notice her gone and send out a search party.

Now the only question that was left was- where to go?

She considered Declan's or Rachel's where she could hide out but they would get in trouble for concealing her if she was found out. No, she couldn't get them in trouble.

She guessed she could always go back to her house if she wanted to but she really didn't want to go back to all of those memories. Besides, that would probably be the first place they would search for her.

She sighed, she was really left with only one option. She could only hope that he wouldn't give her away, though she doubted he would unless it was necessary.

Picking up the travel bag, she stepped into the fireplace without a second thought. She tossed down the floo powder as she cried out destination, disappearing in the green flames.

**A/N: I will tell you this: At least one of the memories is VERY IMPORTANT! Take note. It will come into play later on in the story. I know a lot of you were wondering why I killed Ginny when I could have changed it. To this I say: I hate Ginny (as I have stated numerous times)... as I hate Ron. I also felt that I had so many characters (main characters that is) at the moment that the loss of a few wouldn't hurt.**

**Thanks for sticking with me! Much love,**

**MiZZ AmAyA**


	5. Rima

DISCLAIMER: Yeah, still don't own this.

I would just like to take this time to say "screw fanfiction" because not only do you have to go to extreme measures to update (exporting, replacing, etc), but they have taken off the link to submit a ticket. Thanks to everyone who emailed about the "back door" method of updating.

Beta: MoonyNZ

Rima

July 27, 1997

Hermione sat in the corner of the room with a blanket wrapped tightly around her shoulders as the embers slowly died away until there was just a small speck left. She closed her eyes and looked away, forcing back the tears.

She had been sitting here for a good six hours now and she was beginning to second guess herself. She came here for clarity and peace and yet she was more confused now then she had been before.

Falco had been understanding, very understanding actually given the situation, and had let her in the room. He then preceded to walk out of the portrait and leave her alone, something she had wished for but now she wanted company more than anything.

Were the images she saw memories or something else? Were they hers or were they someone else's? Surely they couldn't be hers…could they?

She shifted slightly, pulling the blanket tighter around her as she leaned her head against her knees, expelling her pent up breath. Losing control wouldn't do her a bit of good, she told herself. She needed to maintain control, she needed to remain calm.

Easier said than done, she realized a second later as the last memory suddenly flashed in her head once more. She could practically feel his touch on her now as she set there.

There was no way she could dream up a feeling like that. It had to be real, it just had to be…but it didn't make sense. How could they be real?

She threw the blankets off her shoulders and stood suddenly, wiping away the tears forcibly as she walked over to the fireplace. She braced one arm against the mantle and rested her head against it, taking a few deep breaths to steady herself.

It wouldn't do her a bit of good if she lost control now. There had to be some logical explanation…after all, wasn't there always one?

She turned around and started for the portrait hole when something caught her attention. On the floor beside of a chair laid a book. It was partially obscured from view since most of it was tucked under the chair, but she could see enough to identify it as an older book.

Hermione allowed herself to be drawn to the book as it seemed to be calling to her. Slowly, she bent and pulled it out from under the chair and lifted it up in her hands.

"_Time: Deviate from History_," she read as she scrunched up her eyes to peer through all the dust bunnies. She blew gently and instantly regretted it as she went into a coughing fit.

She flopped herself down into the seat and opened the book, peering at the contents. Most of it was rather fascinating, though she had no idea as to what it was pertaining to.

It wasn't until page seventy-three that she found something that instantly caught her attention. She didn't know what it was, but something was telling her that this was important.

Time travelling has been known to occur during the course of history. The basic and most known way of time travelling is by use of the Time-Turner. (For more on the Time-Turner, turn to page one hundred and twenty-eight)

However, an intricate device that enables users to time travel further in history, either forwards or backwards, is known as the Verus Fatum. Translated it means 'True Destiny.' Each Verus Fatum is created for a specific person, holding something of the person within the design of the devise. This allows the Verus Fatum to only be activated by the user.

A user must first decide whether or not they **want **to use the Verus Fatum. Then, after activation, it is important for the user to incorporate themselves into the world and time they now exist in. A time traveller's secret must never be divulged and they should never share the truth of their existence.

The most frequent occurrence is for the user to travel back in time. If this happens, time freezes itself until it catches up with itself. The user must never meet their future self so usually they will never exist at the same time, for if they do, serious damage can be done to the golden web in which time is weaved. However, if it does happen that a user exists with their future self, eventually the user will die.

There is always a task for the user to complete before he or she will return to where time left off. Most of the time though, when a person returns, time starts all over again, especially when the timeline is severely changed. Only two instances have been noted to happen where this has taken place. One of Martimus of Greece who existed during the fall of Rome, and one of Hermione Granger…

Her blood turned to ice in her body as the book fell from her frozen hands. Her mind literally shut down so that she was neither thinking or wondering. She was merely existing at that specific time.

And then reality started spinning very fast around her, sweeping her up into the mighty pendulum. She felt as if she was drowning in a whirlpool of shark infested waters.

Questions raced through her mind so fast that she could hardly keep track of them. They would enter and then quickly leave again only to be replaced by another.

"HERMIONE!"

Brown eyes shifted quickly to the portrait hole which remained firmly shut. The voice was a little far off at the moment but she knew he would be coming soon…

And then she would ask…but would he answer? She didn't know but she was still going to ask cause she couldn't stand not knowing.

"HERMIONE!"

Closer now…almost here.

Falco appeared in the portrait just inside the door and he looked at her quizzically. She knew then that he was asking permission as to whether or not to allow Sirius entry.

She stared at him and then nodded, a grave move she admitted mentally a moment later as Falco sighed and shook his head before walking out of the portrait. She should really think about all of this…

But she didn't want to think, she wanted to know.

"HERMIONE!"

Outside.

The portrait swung open quickly, the frame bouncing off the wall as it was slammed back. Her eyes never left his from the moment he entered, his breath coming in heavy gasps as if he had just ran a marathon.

She didn't give him any time to think as she simply asked, "I'm her, aren't I?"

His eyes travelled from her to the book in her hand before he closed his eyes and nodded as if he was sentencing himself to death. And then he was there, his arms wrapped tightly around her as she simply cried herself to sleep, the new knowledge haunting her mind.

AmAyAtHeGrEaTlOvEsPiRoUtTeS

July 31, 1997

It was Harry Potter's seventeenth birthday today…and he wasn't even there to celebrate it with the ones that he loved. Instead, the families joined together to hold a party in his honour in which he didn't attend and pretended as if he was there.

Harry sent word about his latest adventure in the search of the Horcruxes. Apparently, he had found and destroyed another one. There were only two left now and he hinted that he knew the location of each. If all went well, he would be home in no time.

Or so they all desperately believed.

Hermione sat between Declan and Rachel. Her and Sirius had agreed that maybe she should move in with the Potters until she had time to think about everything. She had done so somewhat reluctantly, though she wasn't all too sure why.

As soon as she entered the Potter residence by way of floo, she felt a sense of loss. She didn't tell anyone, though. Instead she kept a smile on her face even when she just felt like running back to Sirius and straight into his arms.

She smiled as Declan passed her a piece of the cake shaped like a Quidditch pitch and thanked him. She was aware of Lily eyeing her critically so she fought to keep the smile on her face and the doubt from it.

Rachel elbowed her softly and she looked over at the younger girl. There was a small smile on the girl's face, slightly mischievous. "It's getting a bit crowded in here, why don't we go out back for a bit," she suggested, giving Declan a meaningful look.

He agreed adamantly and they all rose, fully aware that all the adults were watching them. They walked past them and out of the door, ignoring all the looks they were getting.

Outside, Hermione allowed part of her guard to drop as she plopped herself down on the ground and leaned back against the brick wall. Declan lowered himself down beside of her while Rachel took the other side.

"Alright, what gives?" Rachel demanded suddenly, dropping all pretences.

Hermione looked at the girl pointedly and said, "It's complicated."

The youngest Potter shrugged and stated, "Everything's complicated which is why you should talk about it to help with it."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "That makes a lot of sense."

She grinned. "Of course it does, I said it. Now, tell us what's going on."

"I just…," she hesitated, not really sure how to go on, "I found out some things recently that has put a whole new perspective on everything. I just don't know what to do anymore."

Declan put his hand to his check and gasped dramatically. "You mean, you're like us now? The great Hermione Granger is finally confused about something?"

She playfully smacked him, "Shut up you."

"I heard dad and mum talking about some sort of visions," Rachel said thoughtfully. She turned her eyes to the bushy hair witch. "What were they talking about?"

"I've been having these visions of sort and I'm still trying to figure them all out," she explained. "I think I'm starting to piece them together, though."

"Ooh," Rachel cried excitably, "tell!"

Hermione looked from one to the other and slowly shook her head. "Sorry, can't. I'm afraid this needs to be kept in my head and there only for the time being."

"But Hermione…," they both whined.

"No."

"You're no fun," Rachel pouted as she crossed her arms. Then she glanced at Hermione out of the corner of her eye. "You know, something serious must of happened for them to kick you out of Uncle Sirius' house."

Again, Hermione refused to rise to the younger girl's bait. "Nothing, he just suggested that I come over here for a bit to hang around with someone nearer to my age. Plus, he probably needs his privacy too and some space."

"You do realize you're the first person Sirius has ever taken to his house," Declan pointed out. "In fact, I think that's the first time he's ever been back to it since…"

Neither of them finished that sentence though for different reasons. Declan and Rachel because they never spoke of her death and Hermione because she knew the truth of the matter.

"Look," Hermione said suddenly as she stood and brushed her hands over her shirt, "it's getting a bit nippy out here so I think I'm going to go inside. Actually, I'm a little tired so I might go take a nap. Will you two make my excuses for me?"

"Sure," Declan said with a nod while he watched her sadly. He knew that there was something else wrong with her than what she was saying.

"Hermione," Rachel said just as she reached the door, "don't worry too much about it. It'll all work out…you just have to let it."

Hermione smiled as she stared at the younger girl. She really was a lot like Lily, she thought suddenly. Memories of the older woman flashed through her head and she nodded. "Thanks, Rachel. You two shouldn't stay out here too long."

AmAyAtHeGrEaTlOvEsHeRpReCiOuSwOlFiE

August 2, 1997

The last Horcrux was located and destroyed, or so Harry wrote when they received his next letter. Hermione stood back in the shadows while they all huddled together discussing its contents.

She turned and walked out of the room knowing that no one had noticed her leaving. She had at least one hour alone before anyone would notice.

So, what to do?

She walked slowly to the library and strode around it, her eyes studying the titles. She reached out and traced a few of the spines, closing her eyes as her thoughts remembered previous times when she did this.

During the past two days she had been having more and more flashes, memories weaving themselves together slowly. She was beginning to remember all her time in the past.

She looked around and walked over to the far corner where the albums were kept. She picked up one of the older ones and took it over to the settee.

She flipped through it quickly and stopped on the section containing Lily and James' wedding pictures. There she was…she noticed herself now.

She was slowly changing into that woman…how could she not have noticed before now? It was blatantly obvious and yet it took a trip to Hogwarts to discover the truth.

Her fingers reached out on their own accord and traced the scar in the pictures that ran down the woman's face. Then, they reached up to trace her own unmarred skin.

Where would she get that scar?

She returned the album and grabbed one of the older ones. It was marked as '_7th year_' so she figured that she must be in there somewhere.

The album started with pictures of Lily and Lauri in what she could only assume to be Lily's house. They looked so young and carefree as they laughed.

Then the pictures changed to ones in the dormitory at Hogwarts. There she was. It was labelled as the first day and she clearly had the scar.

So she received it before she travelled to the past. That meant it would be soon. The battle must be soon…

The door to the library opened and her eyes looked up to stare at the intruder. Grey eyes met hers with an question lurking in their icy depths.

"May I join you?"

She smiled and shifted, patting the space beside of her so that Sirius could sit down. He sat closer than necessary but she found that she didn't mind all that much.

"What are you looking at?" he inquired, looking over her shoulder at the album.

"Pictures," she answered, smiling at him. "I just…"

He nodded in understanding when she couldn't finish her sentence. "Look, there's a lot you probably don't understand about all of this…"

"That's the understatement of the century," she muttered under her breath causing him to chuckle lightly. She placed her hand on his arm and looked into his eyes. "Sirius, I'm not going to play twenty questions about all this. Right now, I just want to concentrate on ending this war."

She turned her attention back down to the picture of her, Lily, and Lauri on the first day and lightly traced the scar. "I think it'll be any day now."

He opened his mouth to respond when the door opened yet again and an aggrieved looking werewolf walked in without welcome. "Oh dear merciful Merlin," he exclaimed softly as he quickly walked over to the vacant chair, "I thought I'd never get away."

Sirius grinned at Hermione before turning to his friend. "What is it this time, Moony? Was Lauri practically throwing herself at you again begging you to ravish her senseless?"

Said werewolf glared at his friend before shaking his head in an exasperated manner. "You bloody mutt, if you'd just prick up your ears a bit you'd know that they are pressuring me to go retrieve Harry cause they have it in their minds that I'll succeed where they've all failed."

"Harry will come home on his own accord," Hermione inserted.

"I know that, you know that, Sirius knows that," Remus said in a tired voice. "Unfortunately, James is just too bloody thick to get that through his head and Lily's too worried about him to listen to reason."

"Harry's a Potter, he'll make it," Sirius said with a hearty laugh. "Look at us, we got into much more than he has and we've made it just fine."

Remus studied him for a second or two before mumbling, "Some of us have."

"Oh my dear, Moony, you wound me so. Like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern we will ride off together to retrieve the young Harry, of that you can be sure."

Remus shrugged dispassionately as he stood and began to shift through the cabinets. "Maybe." He pulled out a bottle of Firewhisky and three glasses. "Or maybe Harry will return before they resort to sending us out. Anyway, I think Harry is too much like is father and therefore won't even come home if we went to retrieve him."

"Of that you can be sure," Hermione agreed.

Remus filled the glasses and then looked at Hermione. "I figure if Lily or Lauri saw me giving you this, they'd try to roast me alive come the next full moon. You won't tell them, will you?"

Hermione grinned impishly. "Why, and here I thought it was supposed to be Sirius that was the bad influence." She took the glass. "I won't tell."

"Thanks," he saluted her with the glass. "Bottoms up."

The three of them all drained their glasses in one go and sat there empty glasses back down on the table. "Well," Remus said as he stood from his seat, "I'm off to bed before they catch me in here with you two and the Firewhisky. This way, only Sirius can be blamed."

"You're evil," said man stated as he playfully glared up at the lycan.

"I know." He pressed a light kiss to the top of Hermione's head. "Night."

She watched as he left and then looked at Sirius. He stared back at her and then down at the album still in her lap. "I think we're going to need another drink," was all he said.

**A/N: Grr, Fanfiction, Grr.**


	6. Ono

**DISCLAIMER: Hate to disappoint you all but I don't own Harry Potter. **

**Beta: the wonderful moonyNZ**

**Ono**

_August 4, 1997_

The rain pelted against the glass in the upstairs room that Hermione was currently occupying at the Potters' residence. She had declined going back with Sirius to his house and she could tell he was a little glad of the fact. They both had some thinking to do.

He did tell her, though, before he left that if she wanted to come back to just owl him. He was going to go away for a bit but would be back shortly and could be reached if need be.

She admitted, she was sorely tempted to owl him on a number of occasions throughout the past two days. It wasn't that she wasn't happy with the Potters, she was, it was just that in a way she felt odd by not being with him.

The one thing that stopped her was the thought of what Harry and Ron would think when they found out. She wished they were here so that she could talk to them about it, but on the other hand she was sort of glad that they weren't.

She didn't know what to do anymore. They were due home tomorrow. She expected that they had been slow in coming because they knew that the war was coming any day now.

Voldemort was growing restless. He began attacking the Order and muggles. The death tolls were through the roof and the sad thing is that he was successful.

Hermione closed her eyes as she laid her head down on the desk, shutting out all the sounds of the world around her. She didn't know what to do anymore…

She raised her head back up as thunder crackled in the sky. Her brown eyes gazed out the window as she watched the rain fall. Lightening flashed.

She froze. Something was moving rapidly towards her window. She stood, pressing her face right up against the glass as her breath fogged up the window.

She opened it quickly upon seeing what it was that was swooping towards her. A large owl, much larger than Hedwig, was diving at a rapid speed.

The owl itself was dark brown in colour with chilling blue eyes. It peered at her in a bored manner as it held it's leg out in a very dignified manner. She took it and the bird instantly flew off without even getting a treat.

She shrugged nonchalantly as she tore open the parchment. She pulled the window shut with one hand while she finished opening the letter with the other.

_Hermione,_

_I must ask for your presence in my office at precisely one today. There will be no one around to question you. Make sure you are not seen. Password is 'Remember the last.'_

_AD_

Eyes wide, Hermione gazed at the letter incredulously. It couldn't be from who she thought it was…but it had to be. There was no one else who it could be from.

She quickly crumbled the letter up and promptly set it on fire with the tip of her wand. No one could find it. It was obvious that whatever he wanted to speak to her about was private.

The clock on the wall read twelve forty-five. Making a rash decision, she ran down to Rachel's room. Luckily the girl was in there and not with her mum and dad.

"Rachel, I need you to do me a favour."

The younger girl looked up at her. "Sure, what do you need."

"I need you to cover for me for about an hour or so. Do you think you can do that?"

Rachel raised a brow. "Why?"

Hermione hesitated. "I can't tell you," she said slowly. "But please, I really need you to just cover for me. I shouldn't be too long. Just tell them I'm asleep or something. Please Rachel."

The young girl still looked sceptical but she reluctantly nodded her consent. Hermione thanked her before rushing out of the room and back to her own. Grabbing her cloak, she eased her way down the stairs towards the sitting room where the fireplace was.

She would have to make sure that no one was near when she used the floo network or they would hear her and come after her. She didn't know how she would answer their questions if they caught her.

She gazed around the surrounding rooms, looking for anyone who might be hanging about. Seeing none, she headed straight back towards the fireplace.

She threw some floo powder in as she stepped into the fireplace, saying, "Hogwarts," clearly. She closed her eyes briefly and silently prayed that she got off in the right place.

Her body crashed to the floor hard and she squinted her eyes open, rubbing her right elbow which she had landed painfully on. She was in the Gryffindor common room.

She pulled her wand out of her pocket and cast a illusion charm on herself. That should help her a bit in sneaking through the enchanted castle. She wasn't worried about stumbling into Filch; she was worried about the portraits reporting back to McGonagall.

When she opened the portrait hole to leave the common room, she instantly became aware of one problem she hadn't thought about- the Fat Lady.

"Who's there?" she demanded as her eyes searched around.

Hermione closed the portrait back as quietly as humanly possible. Then, she began to back away.

"Who's there? I can hear your footsteps. Show yourself!"

Hermione quickly turned and fled down the corridor. Her heart was beating very fast indeed by this point. She didn't dare to stop, though, until she reached the stone gargoyle that guarded the Headmaster's office.

She tucked her wand back in as she shouted, "Remember the last!" down the corridor. The gargoyle instantly sprang to life and began to spiral upward; Hermione easily jumping into the revolving staircase.

She bent over, her hands braced on her knees, as she fought to breath properly again.

Dear Merlin, she thought breathlessly as she allowed the stairs to take her up, she really needed to get into shape.

At last she reached the top and she knocked on the door just to be sure that there was no one in there before she went barging in. No one answered so she could only assume it was alright to enter.

She looked around slowly as the door creaked open. Dumbledore's bizarre instruments were still strung around the room, some of them whirling madly. There were a few that caught her eye, but she forced her gaze away…

And then she saw it. There, on the shelf was an object that called to her. It was a gold object that resembled a time-turner and yet at the same time was very different from it. She could feel the power radiating from it.

Inside of the object was a liquid gold, instead of the sandy grains of a time-turner. It didn't whirl; it didn't make a loud whistle; in fact, I didn't do much of anything. Yet there was something extraordinary about it that made her want to touch it.

"I wouldn't do that just yet if I were you."

Startled, she whirled around to be faced with the twinkling blue eyes of Albus Dumbledore. He was smiling at her rather pleasantly from his frame.

"I find that one often does something they didn't mean to do if they do not understand first," he continued. "It's always good to understand."

She nodded as she glanced quickly at the object before back at him. "That…that thing," she gestured towards it, "what is it exactly?"

"A good question, one that has been under a lot of speculation and not clearly answered. You see, there is no clear answer, but it does have a name."

Hermione decided right then and there that Dumbledore had to be one of the most confusing men in the world. "I'm afraid I don't understand sir."

"It is easy to give an object a name but it's not always easy to provide a clear and accurate definition," he explained. "That object there is easy to give a name to but very few understand the science behind it."

Hermione scoffed. "There are a lot of things that _specialist_ define and yet are accurately false in their findings though blind to reason. They don't understand science anymore than a commoner most of the time and yet we rely upon them to define the extraordinary for us."

He merely smiled at her ranting. "Too true, too true," he commented softly. He puckered his lips slightly as he sucked on a lemon drop in the portrait. "Modern science explains very little and yet speculates on almost everything."

She laughed softly and leaned slightly against the wall, crossing her arms. "So, what is the object known as?" she asked as she cast a look in its direction.

"How versed are you in Latin?" he asked mildly, looking at her secretively.

"Depends," she retorted with a speculative glint in her eye, "why?"

"Sometimes, I think, it's better to discover certain things on your own."

Hermione let out a pent up breath. "Sir, I can only stay for a while before it is discovered that I have left and the others begin to look for me so I really think you should just tell me."

He smiled. "Don't worry, Hermione, we have all the _time_ in the world."

She was sure she wasn't imagining the extra emphasis he placed on the word 'time.' He knew- well of course he _had_ to know- but did he know that she knew?

"Sir, please."

He took pity on her. Sitting down on an old chair in the portrait, he smiled down at her. "That object is classified as a Verus Fatum."

Something in that name stung at her memory, causing her to bite her lip as she turned the two words over and over in her mind. There was something familiar about it…

"Yes, Hermione," Dumbledore said with a bright smile, "you have heard the word before, though not in this time."

That's when she knew. She looked at the object and then back at him, turning once more to the object after she received his nod of affirmation.

She reached out towards it, but stopped before her fingers could even touch it. Something was telling her that now was not the time to touch it.

"You are smart in not touching it," he paused and added as almost an afterthought, "yet."

She sighed and sat down on a chair in the room. "Sir, what is it exactly?"

"Verus Fatum translates into 'True Destiny,'" he explained. "In 1977, a young woman appeared and was found on the grounds of Hogwarts in a sorry state indeed. After conversing with her, it was obvious that she had arrived by means of one of these devices."

She nodded in understanding. The device beside her now was the way she had travelled to the past. She wanted to examine it, but she fought the urge. She didn't want to inadvertently do something she would regret later.

"This one…," she paused, swallowing the lump in her throat, "this one is mine, isn't it?"

He didn't answer right away and she figured he was trying to figure out how to answer without really answering. She looked towards him, her eyes demanding an answer.

"Yes," he said finally. "Unless _you_ decide otherwise."

A frown creased her mouth as her eyes scrunched up in confusion. She looked away from him and back at the Verus Fatum, only this time, something caught her eye.

Leaning closer, she could make out something engraved on the bottom. On closer inspection- as close as she could get without touching it- she could see three wands rising from the bottom.

The wand on the left was darker gold in colour. A phoenix wrapped around it, flames shooting out from the wings and tail. The one on the right was also a darker gold and had a Queen's piece from a chess game etched into the handle of the wand.

The wand in the middle was longer than the other two and a bright gold that, when the light hit it a certain way, was a bit blinding. A vine of olive leaves wrapped around the wand, only stopping at the tip. Directly above the tip was an engraving of an owl, wings spread out.

Three wands…one of a phoenix, one of a chess piece, one of a vine. She thought about it. One of strength and power, one of strategy, and one of knowledge.

She looked up at Dumbledore to find him smiling pleasantly. "I think we are finished up here if you wish to leave."

**AmAyAtHeGrEaToNcEwAnTeDtObEaChEf**

_August 5, 1997_

Harry and Ron had arrived late in the night and were immediately rushed to bed by Mrs. Weasley who proclaimed them to be "in a sorry state." They were still asleep by noon the next day and Hermione was getting a bit anxious for them to wake so she could talk to them.

Declan was the one who came up to her room to see if she wanted to come down for lunch or eat in her room. She figured Lily must have sensed that something was wrong with her and decided to offer her some space.

She was gracious for the elder Potter woman and accepted to the latter, pleased that she was being allowed to eat in peace. Declan returned a couple of minutes later with a large plate crammed with all of her favourites.

She thanked the young Lupin as he deposited the plate before leaving, silently shutting the door behind him on his way out. His mum must have told him not to stay and chit-chat, Hermione realized, for normally he would have stayed for a couple minutes to discuss the latest article he read.

She picked up her fork and stabbed a steamed carrot, chewing it slowly while her mind drifted back to what she had discovered the previous day. She didn't know what to do with the newfound information.

She didn't know what to think anymore…

The door opened and before she could register anything, she found two pairs of arms wrapped around her and herself pinned to the bed. The only thing she could see was two heads of red and black hair.

"Guys, glad to see you too, but get off… please." She tried to regain her breath since they were practically smothering her. She gave up a silent prayer of thanks when they clambered off almost immediately at hearing her wheezing for breath.

They smiled at her sheepishly. "Sorry," they both muttered before glancing at each other quickly and hugging her tightly again.

She laughed as she hugged them back this time, savouring their touch. "Oh Merlin, I've missed you two so much. You can't imagine what it's been like without you."

They both wore identical grins. "We wanted to come back and steal you away," Ron said, "but we were afraid that Sirius would kill us. He was adamant that you shouldn't come with us."

That caused her to pause. Sirius had been the one that prevented her from going? Why hadn't she been informed of that little fact before?

Harry elbowed Ron hard in the side. "She didn't know that," he growled in an undertone. Then, he turned to Hermione with a large fake smile. "Ignore Ron, he's suffered a couple of blows to the head in recent weeks."

"Nice try Harry," she said, crossing her arms. "Explain now."

Ron shifted nervously, glancing towards Harry for help while the latter just scratched at his forehead as he tried to come up with a plausible answer that would prevent them from suffering from her wrath.

"Well, you see when we first decided to go out and search for the Horcruxes, we had some supporters in the Order. They knew that they had to be destroyed if we had any hope of destroying Voldemort," Harry explained.

"I already knew that, Harry, now cut to the point."

"Well, we were ecstatic and said we were coming up to tell you the good news when Sirius stopped us. He told us that under no circumstances were you coming with us."

"He what?"

"He said that we weren't going to tell you we were leaving or anything or we couldn't go at all," Harry continued. "He said he wasn't allowing you to be put in harm's away again…not when he could help it."

Ron looked between the two with a confused expression on his face. "Come to think of it, what did he mean by that? I didn't ask then because I was afraid they wouldn't let us go if we pressured them too much."

Harry shrugged and they both turned towards her. She realized she had to make a quick decision then as she stared at a point directly between them.

"I'm not sure," she said finally. She couldn't believe she wasn't telling them what she had discovered, but something told her that now was not the time. "Maybe since it was right after my parent's death, he didn't want me going."

They seemed to accept that relatively easily and she wasn't surprised by their gullibility. She reached out and grabbed their hands. "Alright, enough of this, tell me everything!"

They both smiled and began their tales of adventure and battles, Ron's mainly concerned him almost dying and then miraculously surviving. Harry was a bit more modest in his tales.

It was Remus that came up to get them later that night for dinner. They decided to join the others for supper. Hermione was slightly disappointed that Sirius didn't join them.

After dinner, the trio travelled by floo to the Burrow and sat outside under the stars by the stone marker with "Ginerva Weasley" written in dark letters upon it. They sat in silence as they stared up into the heavens.

Hermione sat between the two boys, one held in each of theirs. She knew as well as they did that they would soon have to go to war and they might not make it out of it alive. They each needed comfort while they could still give it to each other.

She rested her head on Harry's shoulder while he wrapped on arm around her shoulders, drawing her closer. Ron scooted closer to her then and wrapped his arm around her waist.

Yes, they needed each other now…

She couldn't tell them…

**A/N: Two things: One, I have began randomly posting little snippets of this story on my LJ. Second, pay attention to the dates and THEN go back and look at the first chapter of CY, might provide some insight :-P**

**Much love,**

**MiZZ AmAyA**


	7. Whitu

**Whitu**

_August 8, 1998_

The beginning days of August were normally hot where people would be forced to strip off any excess clothing in hopes of cooling down. But on this day it was different. There was a stillness in the air and the sun would only occasionally peek out from behind thick grey clouds.

Hermione laid in her bed in the upstairs part of the Potter's residence with the duvet tucked way up under her chin. Her brown eyes stared straight up at the ceiling with a look of apprehension in them.

The calm before the storm.

She didn't want to rise. She knew that if she did, it wouldn't be long before something happened. She didn't want to face the world at that moment. She wanted to stay within her little cocoon where she was safe…

Her head slowly rolled to the side on her pillow as she moved to stare at a picture over on the dresser. Three figures moved within the frame- Ron, Harry, and her. They were celebrating her birthday and the boys had chocolate cake on their faces which they would get all over her when they leaned over to press sloppy kisses to her cheeks.

They looked so young and carefree in that picture…she no longer recognized the little girl she used to be.

War had the ability to make one grow up at an alarmingly fast pace. There was no way to slow down time, no way to steal back the innocence of childhood.

She closed her eyes against the memories. She knew of the other alternative now, she had relived it last night in her dreams. She had seen each of their deaths, felt their pain.

But it was different now…or was it? Who's to say it wouldn't all turn out exactly the same in the end? There were no guarantees that they would make it.

Her eyes flickered open and moved on to another picture. This one was different. In it stood three girls- one with fiery red hair, one with light brown, and one with dark brown. She knew them now- Lily, Lauri, and her. They were sitting by the lake reading while the giant squid laid near them sunning itself. Each wore a secretive smile and she somehow knew that it was because the boys were attempting to sneak up on them and scare them.

She had been happy.

Even after all the death in her alternative past, she had still been able to be happy once again. Would she this time around if the war wrought the same results?

She didn't know. All she knew was that at that exact moment in time, she wanted nothing else but to be in Sirius' arms. She wanted to be with him.

She rolled her head back so that she was staring at the ceiling once more. She wanted desperately to believe that everything was going to be alright.

But not even in the darkest recesses of her mind could she find the willpower to promise herself that everything was going to work out alright.

"Hermione," came the call at the door. "Hermione, are you alright?"

She ignored the boys and instead curled up on her side in the fetal position, clutching the duvet for security. She needed the safety of her room.

"Hermione," Harry tried this time and she could just imagine him outside with his forehead rested against the door, "please open up. We're worried about you."

She remained steadfast, her eyes glazing over as the white wall blurred into her senses. Peace…security….safety….loneliness…

"Come on, Hermione, just open up." Two hits against the door, dull thumping to her ears. Agitated knocks undoubtedly from Ron; demanding knocks.

"Hermione."

Her ears prickled as her eyes shifted quickly to the door. A new voice joined the other two. Why was he here? When did he get back? Why now after avoiding her?

"Come on, love, open up."

Slowly she sat up, holding the blanket up to her chest. Her eyes dropped to her lap and then lifted back to the door. She didn't want to leave her bed…as childish as that sounded.

She heard him saying something to Harry and Ron and then two sets of footsteps walking away. She knew that he remained, though, and sure enough he whispered a spell a moment later and the door opened.

He stood there, slightly more dishevelled than usual, staring down at her with a compassionate look on his face. He closed the door softly behind him and advanced on her.

She stared at him steadily, unsurprised by the tears stinging her eyes. She had cried enough the past few days to probably feel a bathtub…twice.

"I tried," she whispered when he was close enough to her.

"I know," he whispered right back as he reached out and tucked a stray piece of wild hair behind her ear. "I know."

"I wanted to save them…" A single tear slipped from her eye and down her cheek. "That's all I wanted to do…"

"I know."

"They were all dead and I was alive." She closed her eyes against the pictures flashing before them. "I had to do something to help them…"

"I know."

"What if I can't save them this time? What if…"

She broke off into hysterical sobs and instantly found herself wrapped in Sirius' arms, his embrace tender as he rocked her back and forth. She tucked her head against his chest while his chin rested on the top of her head.

"You can't save the world, Hermione," he whispered into her hair. "You tried it once and it didn't work out."

She pulled back sharply, starring up at him with red eyes. "Then what am I supposed to do, Sirius? Sit back and watch as they all die?"

"No," he said as he grasped her shoulders. "You fight, you live, you believe in your cause. That's all anyone can really ask of you at this point. You've done your job."

"Maybe that wasn't my job," she replied stubbornly. She really didn't know why she was arguing with him about this. She just didn't want to admit to the possibility that they could all die in the war.

He smiled at her slowly. "Hermione, it's alright to be scared, you know. Everyone gets scared from time to time. You know far more than should ever be suspected of one your age."

She shook her head slightly and looked away. "I don't have time to be scared. I need to finish this…I need to figure it all out…I need…"

"You need to slow down and take a deep breath." He placed a finger under her chin and tilted her head back so that she was staring up at him. "We both know that the war is just around the corner, do you really want to walk into the war not knowing whether you're going to walk out and not having spent time with your friends?"

She only frowned at him, not really understanding what he was implying and he simply sighed. "Take today and forget about everything. Forget everything and just enjoy the day with Harry and Ron."

She looked away, her mind reeling over his suggestion. Could she possibly forget the images in her head. Looking back at him, she smiled. "Alright, Sirius."

He smiled back at her and, on impulse, leaned down and pressed his lips to the corner of her mouth. She closed her eyes and leaned into him. She pulled away slowly, her eyes going hesitantly to his. "Promise me that you'll be alive when it's all over," she whispered pleadingly.

"Hermione…"

"Promise me, Sirius," she demanded. She closed her eyes to blink back the tears that were forming there. "I need to know that you'll be there. I can't…I just can't…."

"Shh," he whispered as he cradled her to his chest, "I'm not going anywhere right now, love. My place is right here…beside you."

He used his hands to gently pull her head back so that he was staring down at her, their faces unnaturally close. "I love you, Hermione Granger, I never stopped. Know that and everything will work out for the best."

She wanted so much to return his words of affection. She wanted to whisper her love to him while she remained in his arms. She wanted him to kiss her like he had in _their_ past. She wanted to wake up beside him and know that everything was going to be alright.

But she didn't, _couldn't_, return his words and only nodded mutely. They smiled at each other, a bit unsure of what lied before them. But they made a silent vow in that moment to take whatever life threw at them one step at a time.

"Now, I want you to go down, put a smile on that pretty little face, and spend the day with your two best friends who have been worried sick over you," he instructed with a roguish grin. "And you're going to forget about everything that has happened and instead move on with your life."

She chuckled lightly. "And you, will you join us?"

"Hmm," his lips pulled tightly as he considered, "not today, love. Today is a day for you and your friends." He leaned down and pressed a lingering kiss against her forehead. "Go."

She nodded and scooted off the bed, not even bothering to get dressed. She figured her shorts and tank was decent enough to be seen in. She smiled at him one last time before walking out of the room.

She was only halfway down the stairs when she was caught up in a pair of arms, swinging her around madly. She giggled despite herself and clutched the shoulders of her captor.

"Harry," she pleaded as he continued to make her dizzy. She was soon returned to her feet only to be caught up again by the other boy with ginger hair. She laughed, hugging him madly. "Boys," she muttered with a roll of her eyes.

"Are you okay?"

"Are you sick?"

"You're not going to be sick on us are you?"

The questions continued to rain down on her as they didn't even pause to give her enough time to answer them. She closed her eyes as she waited for them to finally stop. It was endearing in a way, they were worried about her.

"Guys," she interrupted finally when they showed no sign of stopping, "I'm fine. I was… I don't know. I was just a little freaked out by how fast everything is moving and, well, Sirius calmed me down. I'm fine now."

"Thank Merlin," Ron said jokingly, "we thought we were going to have to complete our seventh year all by ourselves and we all know how that would of ended like."

"Badly," her and Harry said at the exact same time.

She chuckled and looped her arms through theirs, leading them down the rest of the stairs. "So, what are we going to do today?"

Harry looked over at her and grinned. "Whatever you want to do," he declared. "Today is your day, since we did leave you and all. We can do _whatever_ you want to do."

Ron looked a little unsure at the 'whatever' part since he figured that she'd probably suggest that they go to the library or attempt once again to get the House Elves to fight for their rights, but she did none of these things.

Smiling, she looked at each of them before saying, "How about we go out back and you two finally teach me how to fly?" To say they were shocked would be a severe understatement.

"You want to learn to fly?" Harry repeated.

"On a broomstick?" Ron asked.

Sighing impatiently, she huffed, "No, on a leaf. Of course on a broomstick! How else do you propose that I learn?" She looked at them with a small smirk. "So are you guys going to teach me or am I going to have to go and retrieve Declan?"

They immediately grinned boyishly and took off towards the backyard, dragging her along behind them. From upstairs, a lone man stared out the window watching them, praying with all his might that everything would work out alright.

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTwAnTsAbLaCkOnYxEnGaGeMeNtRiNG**

As the fire crackled in the sitting room, the trio, Declan, and Rachel all sat around discussing their favourite Hogwarts memory. One, though, remained silent for she was not only thinking about the memories she made with the ones sitting in front of her, but also of the ones she created with those dispersed in the house.

"…and then Harry was up in the air being held by the troll and Hermione was trying to tell me the proper wand movements…"

Everyone laughed at the retelling of the story of the trio's first year when they faced the troll. That was when the trio had been born. Smiling, she wondered if things would have worked out differently otherwise…

"Hermione," Rachel asked, moving forward to touch the bushy hair witch, "what's your favourite memory?"

Before she could answer, a sound coming from the doorway caught her attention. She glanced back and saw a dark silhouette standing there, staring at her. Smiling, she turned back to the group, "I fell in love for the first time there."

The others crooned- well, the only girl did, the guys were all demanding who with. She glanced out of the corner of her eye to see a faint smiling back at her.

"I'm guessing you're meaning Viktor," Ron pouted.

"Actually, no," she replied evasively. "This guy…he is unlike any other. Sweet, caring, joking, loving…" She broke off and looked at the fire, knowing that he was hanging onto every word she said. "In fact, I figure I never stopped loving him and I never will."

"So who is he?" Harry questioned.

"Someone we know?" Ron demanded, pounding his fist against his other hand in a suggestive manner.

"When?" Rachel questioned softly, causing the others to look at her. Blushing, she continued. "I mean, I know I haven't always been there but we never saw you with anyone other than Viktor, Hermione. When did you have another relationship?"

Good question, Hermione mentally said, but how to answer it? With a slight shrug, she decided to be rather clandestine about it. "Always," was her answer. "He's always been there looking out for me and I just haven't noticed…not until recently. And now, now I just want this war to be over so I can tell him exactly how much I do love him."

She was the only one to notice the slight intake of breath coming from the doorway and the gentle sound of footsteps receding. She smiled at the flames; they alone knew what she was thinking.

"Come on, Hermione, share," Harry cajoled. "Who is he?"

She looked around at all her friends and their anxious faces. Of course they had never figured her to be one with a relationship. She had been the one who knew everything and how to solve the smallest of riddles. She had been the one to spend hours in the library. What did she know of love?

But looking at them now, she realized that she knew a lot. She knew by the furtive glances that Harry and Ginny had exchanged before she had died meant that they had loved each other. She knew by the way Declan and Rachel always clung to each other that one day they would be together. She knew by Ron's snarky towards a certain blonde Ravenclaw that he actually cared.

She knew a lot about love, she realized, for she had always been surrounded by it. Even when she wasn't aware of the fact she had been. And now, now she was the one in love.

"Maybe another day," was her final response as she rose from the floor. "But now, now I have somewhere else that I need to be. All this reminiscing has caused me to remember something. If you'll excuse me…"

She escaped from the room before anyone could stop her. Rushing up the stairs, she grabbed her thick over cloak and travelled back down them. In the kitchen she found Lauri and Lily chatting over two mugs of chocolate. They looked at her quizzically when she entered.

"I need a favour," was all she said and they readily agreed when she explained on further probing. They grabbed their cloaks before jotting out a quick note to their husbands and apparating from the house with Hermione between them.

They appeared a second later at the gates of Hogwarts, the castle looming in the distance. She smiled at each of them before pushing the gates open and walking through them. They followed though at a reasonable distance. They understood that she needed to do this alone.

She dropped down to the ground beside the stone marker signalling the grave of Albus Dumbledore. She bowed her head slightly in respect and placed the single rose she had brought at the head.

"You were always there, guiding me. I never noticed the significance of your words until after you were gone. I know now what will happen and I'm afraid of messing it up. I…_we_ worked so hard in preserving the future, altering it so that it worked out, but what if I have only made it worse?"

A gentle breeze swept by her, breaking the calmness of the day. She smiled slightly, sure that he was there with her now. "I'm trying, sir, but I'm afraid."

Someone placed their hand on her shoulder and she whirled about, only to be met with startling emerald eyes and red hair. Lily smiled at the younger girl and kneeled beside her.

"I asked Lauri to give us a moment," she stated simply. "I feel as if we should talk, if you want to that is."

Hermione nodded slightly as she looked back down to the ground. "I…I just don't know whether I'm doing the right thing anymore," she whispered.

She could feel the older woman's eyes on her for a long moment before they broke away. Then, she heard a rustling noise and looked over. Lily was pulling an old piece of parchment from the pocket of her jacket.

"What's that?" Hermione asked curiously as the redhead unfolded it. She really couldn't help but to be curious about it. She leaned over slightly to look at it.

"It's a letter," she said in way of an answer. Her eyes looked over the words on the letter. She looked back up and smiled at Hermione. "A wise girl who had complete confidence in herself sent it to me a long time ago."

She looked down at the letter once more before holding it out to the younger witch. Hermione took it hesitantly and gently straightened the wrinkled edges.

_My dearest friend, _

_I write this to you in the wake of my certain death. I know that I will not be returning to you after tonight, not how I am anyways. I write this to you because I believe you are the only one who could ever even begin to understand what I did tonight. It was meant to be…my 'true destiny.' You, Lily, know the way in which fate works, offering some of us two choices. You made your choice when it was presented to you…as I made mine. My choice is what brought me to you._

_I had to do it, I couldn't allow what I knew would happen to happen. That is why I sent you and James out that night. That is why I stayed with Harry. You, Lily, will probably be the only one to ever fully understand why I allowed myself to be killed. Help Sirius, Lily. Please._

_I did it for Harry, you know, for his future. I know a lot about his future and maybe now it will be better. He will have you, James, Sirius, Remus, Lauri, and their little kid for him now. Just don't spoil him too bad._

_Death isn't as scary as it should be. Or maybe it just wasn't for me because I knew it was what had to happen. It was for Harry, for you and the boys, and for the rest of the world. It was my choice._

_Know this, we will meet again. I will not be as you remember me. Keep this secret, Lily. Only you can know the truth behind the events. Until then…_

_Goodbye…_

Hermione stared down at the letter, shocked by its contents. She closed her eyes, a single tear escaping the confines, sliding down her cheek. "You had a Verus Fatum," she whispered though she really didn't need an answer to confirm her suspicions.

"Yes," Lily answered and they were silent for a moment. "Hermione, I made my decision and you made yours. You knew what you were doing when you did so." She reached out and gave Hermione's hand a squeeze. "So be sure of yourself now. You're a bright witch, the brightest of your age, you know what you need to do."

Hermione watched as the redhead stood and walked away from her. Only when she had joined Lauri did Hermione turn back to the gravestone. "I know," she whispered finally and was about to turn away when she saw it. A white phoenix, almost the same colour as the ivory marker, swirled in front of the stone.

_The white phoenix, so rare that it is, can detect a death that is too early for their time. It is rumoured that if a white phoenix flies above the grave of one who died before their time before they are laid to rest in the ground or cast on fire that the dead will rise once again, so powerful are the tears._

Those had been Dumbledore's words to her when she had travelled to the past. So what did it mean?


	8. Waru

**DISCLAIMER: I am terribly sorry to have to break this terrible news to you, but I don't own Harry Potter. I know, it's horrible. I have counselors on hand for anyone who needs to talk...**

**NOTE: The chapter titles are in Maori...they hold no special meaning. Also, things are changing after this point.**

**Beta: MoonyNZ **

**Waru**

_August 9, 1998_

There were daisies, lots of them too. They littered the field and swayed slightly as a gentle summer breeze swept across them. There was just the slightest hint of dew still lingering on them from the morning.

Hermione rose her face up to the sun, the corner of her lips tilting up in a smile as the heat flowed over her. She ran her hands along the smooth petals as she walked slowly through the daisies, the dew moistening her fingers.

She inhaled, her senses filling up with the sweet fragrance. She let her breath out slowly, afraid to lose the sensation of the world around her.

Suddenly the perfect world faded into black as her name was repeated over and over. Her eyes fluttered open to the realization that it was still night time and that Lily was standing over her with a candle in her hand.

"What's wrong?" was her first question and then she replaced it with, "it's started, hasn't it?"

Lily nodded once with a small frown. She extended a hand and helped Hermione climb out of bed and then moved on to Rachel. Hermione knew that Lily would take Rachel to some place where she would be safe and that would, unfortunately, be at the Dursley's.

Hermione moved over to her closet without delay and pulled out a pair of black pants and a black shirt. The Order had informed them to wear dark coloured clothes that would be easy to move in but to make sure that they had some form of marking that would identify them as an Order member.

She pulled them on and then pulled her hair back into a ponytail. Lily and Rachel had already left to floo to the Dursley's so she was a bit curious as to who was knocking on the door. She called a soft "come in" as she pulled a pair of black dragon hide boots from the back of the closet.

"Hey."

Her eyes shot up at the sound of the baritone voice, her eyes locking with his grey ones. "Sirius," she whispered, rushing to her feet.

He smiled as her boots clambered to the floor and motioned for her to sit back down. "So you're ready." She didn't bother with nodding. It wasn't a question. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Hermione, I don't want you to go."

She stared at him for a minute before squaring her chin and glaring at him. "I did not go back in time to change it all only to have it all happen over again because I wasn't there to do anything. I _am_ going to that battle, Sirius, and I _am_ going to fight."

"Hermione…"

"Don't," she warned. She went forward and took his hands in hers. "Sirius, please understand why I need to do this. Harry and Ron…they're like brothers to me. If I don't do anything and lose them then I will only blame myself."

He leaned down and pressed his forehead to hers. "I will blame myself if you're hurt. I lost you once, Hermione…I don't want to lose you again."

She smiled up at him, unlocking her hand from his to touch his chest. "I'll always be with you, Sirius, no matter what. What we have, it' s something that no one can ever take away. We have survived much worse than this."

He chuckled slightly. "Yeah, I guess we have."

She moved her hand from his chest to his cheek, cupping it lovingly. "I died once, Sirius, and I came back to you. I can't promise that I'll be alive when the battle is over but I can say that one way or another I will find my way back to you."

"You know I'm going to spend every waking minute while I'm out there worrying about you," he said with a small smile.

"Who's the one who told me that I just had to fight and stay alive?" She stepped closer to him. "Sirius, we're going to make it through this. This is just one more mountain that we have to climb. If it means finally being able to be with you without pretence, then I'll happily make my way to the top."

"Me too, love," he whispered as he threaded his hand through her wild curls dangling from her ponytail. "Me too." He lightly touched his lips to hers before pulling away.

They drew apart as they heard someone coming towards the room. Hermione turned away and picked up her boots, shoving her feet into them. Just as she reached for her laces, Harry opened the door and strolled in.

His eyes landed on Sirius and then he turned questionably towards Hermione. "Just came to see whether you were ready or not," he said slowly.

Hermione nodded and said, "Sirius, here, thought he should come and make sure too." She finished the lacings. "There, all ready. Oh, except for my cloak. Harry could you be a dear and grab it off the hanger there. Be careful, it has a dagger tucked in it."

He did as she asked and Hermione took the time to give Sirius a tender smile. He smiled in return and mouthed, "Together."

Harry handed her the cloak and smiled at her. She then noticed something at his hip. "Harry, is that what I think it is?"

He looked down and grinned. "Yes, Godric Gryffindor's sword. Thought it might prove useful in the war so I snuck into Hogwarts last night and…er…borrowed it." His grin turned sheepish for a moment as he rubbed at his messy hair. Then, his look turned serious. "I want you to stay near me and Ron today, Hermione." He shook his head when she opened her mouth to argue. "No, look, we'll be harder to get if we stay together. We can help each other."

Her eyes shifted quickly to the dark figure of his godfather and watched as he nodded once in affirmation. "Alright, Harry, I'll stay with you and Ron."

He smiled at her gratefully and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, steering her out of the room. "Come on, everyone's waiting downstairs."

Hermione heard Sirius fall into step behind them and shut the door. She closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath, his scent drifting to her nostrils. She held onto his scent as she walked down the stairs. She was determined to keep him in mind while they battled.

Harry was right. The whole bottom of the house was full of people preparing for the battle. Some of them gazed up at them while others just stood there, taking deep breaths as if preparing themselves for death. She caught sight of Declan and was slightly surprised.

"We need all that we can get," Sirius whispered in her ear gravely. "He's more like his mum than we originally thought; he kept arguing until Moony gave in and let him come."

Hermione smiled. She knew how the younger boy could be when he wanted to. He was a devious mixture of his mum and the Marauders, a deadly combination in some aspects. Though he appeared quiet and meek, he was anything but.

"Ron's over there," Harry told her, motioning towards the redhead. "The twins came by earlier to drop off some stuff that might prove useful in battle. They went back to get some more. Mum just got back from taking Rachel to her sister's." He frowned. "I feel bad for her; I've only met them once and I couldn't stand them."

She patted his arm reassuringly. "She'll be alright, Harry. We'll be collecting her in no time." She grinned. "Besides, if Rachel gets bored, I'm sure she'll think of ways to entertain herself while she's there."

Harry grinned back at the thought of Rachel doing something to his cousin. Hermione took the moment to glance at Sirius to see him observing her. She sent him a quick smile and then turned to walk over to Ron with Harry. Ron lightly chucked her arm in greeting and then yawned. It was still a bit too early for him to be completely awake no matter the circumstance.

"Morning, Ron," she greeted.

"Mornin'," he said mid-yawn. He rubbed his hand over his messy ginger hair and then smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, give me a little while and I'll wake up."

Hermione glanced over towards Declan. He was standing stiffly by his father's side who was standing equally so. "I bet Remus isn't too happy with Declan at the moment."

"Neither is Rachel," Harry stated. "I could hear her from the kitchen when she discovered that they were allowing Declan to fight. She was pouting all the way through the floo. Remus and Lauri bickered a bit earlier but Declan said that he would find a way back and, knowing him, he would so they just decided to let him come. He has to stay near his dad though."

Hermione nodded and moved her gaze on around the room. She knew most of the people in there while a few others she didn't know. She saw that some were quite young at that while others were somewhat old. She made eye contact with Nymphadora Tonks and smiled at the woman with dark black hair. She smiled back and nodded her head slightly though she turned away not a second later with a small frown on her face, crossing her arms as she was lost in thought.

"Hermione," Harry said gently, touching her arm to get her attention, "are you alright?"

"Oh," she turned to him and offered him the smile she knew he was waiting for, "yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking. I'm going through spells in my head."

"Well if you find any there that you think I don't know," Ron stated, "tell me."

Harry laughed and playfully punched the redhead. "Ron, if she were to list all the spells she knew that we don't, we'd be here for hours."

"True…"

Ron's answer was cut off as McGonagall stepped towards them. "Alright you three, listen up. You guys will be towards the rear of our formation. We will rush forward and clear a space for you to go through. Harry has to face _him_, none of us can do that."

They nodded. They had went over this plan for the past couple days to each other, agreeing that to stay near each other was their best bet. Hermione knew that she would probably have to help the boys out with spells since they would undoubtedly have trouble. She now had some knowledge in Dark Arts, thanks to the books in Sirius' library, and knew that she would probably use them for the first time today.

When the older woman walked away, Hermione excused herself and went to retrieve the book she had taken without permission. Remembering the spells she had learnt reminded her of something she had read earlier that she could use. The book was wedged in between two other books in the library so as not to dray any unwanted attention. She picked it up and turned to the marker that marked her page and tore out the page she had been studying. She knew most of the words by heart anyway now. The meaning had only became clearer when she thought of the conversation she had twenty years prior with the Headmaster.

She turned to walk back out the door only to find the way blocked by James. She stared steadily at him while he studied her, his hazel eyes boring into her. "What do you have?" he inquired, his eye quickly shifting to where she had shoved the parchment in her shirt, tucking it under her bra strap.

"Nothing," she replied instantly, her eyes guarded. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Why aren't you with the others?"

"I saw you slip away and wondered what you were up to." He moved further into the room and shut the door. Then his tone changed, it went softer, more gentle as one would do if they were trying to coax an animal do to something. "Hermione, maybe you shouldn't go tonight…."

"Not you too," she interrupted with a huff. "Look, I know that I'm a girl but I'm seventeen and I'm old enough to make this decision. Sure, I would rather not go to war but it is necessary and I will not leave Ron and Harry out there by themselves."

"Sirius almost died the last time you did," he commented softly, so softly that she almost didn't hear him. "I'm afraid he would die if you disappeared again."

"Sirius understands why I'm doing this and I hoped that you would too, James." Hermione let her eyes fall to the floor as she gathered her thoughts before looking back up at him. "I remember everything, James, _everything_. I even remember how it was before I went to the past and it scares me. I don't want it to end up like that again."

"But it won't," he argued.

"It might," she stated and before he could retort, Lily was opening the door and looking between them questionably. "Everything alright in here?" Lily questioned to which she received only nods from the two occupants. "We're getting ready to leave. Hermione, Harry and Ron want you to apparate with them so maybe you should go find them."

Hermione nodded and brushed past Harry's mum and went back to the main room. She caught Sirius' eyes as she passed him but didn't stop to chat. She just kept repeating spells over and over in her head- one spell in particular.

Minerva stepped in front of the group and the room instantly fell into a hushed silence. The Headmistress' eyes were sad but her form was rigid. "It is time," was all she said.

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTiSfRaNfReAkInTaStIc**

Before her laid the bloody carnage that went hand in hand with Death. More than one thestral pranced around, their sensitive noses smelling the blood from the Forbidden Forest. Werewolves didn't stop to devour their victims as they attacked one person after another; the few vampires followed behind and sipped at the blood, not bothering to involve themselves unless it was absolutely necessary.

It appeared as if Voldemort had gathered all the forces he could for this battle. Though Hermione had yet to see the evil mastermind, she knew that he was lingering about somewhere on the Hogwarts' grounds just biding his time. He wouldn't involve himself until he had to thus insuring himself a victory- or so he thought.

She gripped her wand tighter and turned to glance at Ron and Harry. They had stayed together and thus far it had worked great. Around them laid the bodies of several Death Eaters, some dead while some still lived and were only knocked out for a good long time. They didn't want to kill unless they had to.

Suddenly there was a flash and Hermione felt a burning sensation in her shoulder. She turned to find two Death Eaters staring at them, the one with eyes of ice. "Hello, mudblood," Draco Malfoy drawled, stepping closer to her.

"Hermione?" Harry questioned but she growled, "He's mine."

They nodded and left her to it. She threw a curse at him that struck his side, ignoring the pain in her shoulder. He returned with a powerful curse of his own which she barely blocked. He had improved on his duelling skills.

The other, who she soon discovered to be Dolohov, threw a curse at Ron so quick that none of them could block it. Green light connected with the redhead's chest and he was immediately on the ground.

"No!" she cried, momentarily distracted.

Draco took the opportunity to hit her with a hex that sliced her arm. "Nice one, mudblood," he taunted her, "too bad your vast knowledge couldn't save Weasel." He smirked and Hermione felt the last of her control began to fade away as Ron's dying image raced through her head.

With blazing fury, she shouted out "_Sectumsempra!"_ and Draco fell to his knees on the ground, his cry lost among the many others wounded in the early morning. She stood over him and watched, emotionless, as the blood poured steadily through his open wounds. He looked into her eyes as he died, taking one last rugged breath into his body before collapsing onto the hard ground tainted with his blood.

She drew in a deep breath and turned, her eyes widening as she couldn't see Harry. Where had he gone? He was supposed to be there…

"Lost something?"

Her head whipped around quickly only to come face to face with a dark wand. The tip was shoved directly between her eyes but she got control of herself before she panicked. Eyes lifted to meet the plain brown eyes filled with anger. Those eyes struck a cord deep inside her and she was almost positive she had seen them before.

The wand holder had a friend, one Hermione recognized immediately just from the laugh emitted from her. "Hermione Granger, we meet again, only now you're just a little girl."

"I still think I can take you, Lestrange," she called out to Bellatrix though she didn't move her gaze from the one holding the wand. "The last time we duelled you needed a lot of improvement."

"So you do remember," the wand holder nearly hissed and Hermione identified her as female. Why was that voice so familiar?

"I'd remember that there are two of use, mudblood, and that we have the wands. Your friends are dead and no one is near to save you." Bellatrix's voice raised in hysteria with each word as she circled Hermione like a predator watching their prey. "We're going to make you scream."

Bellatrix stepped up behind the woman that still held her wand on Hermione and placed her hands on her shoulders. "Do you know who your murderer is, mudblood?"

"Should I care?"

Instead of Bellatrix crying out in outrage as Hermione expected, it was the woman. "You ruined my life, you ignorant, good for nothing, two-timing whore! I had everything and then you arrived. I have waited a long time for this, Hermione Granger. You disappeared before I finished my training with the Dark Lord but now I will have my revenge."

Hermione's eyes showed her recognition as the words washed over her. "Vantem? Huh, should have guessed that you would immediately cower behind someone stronger that you."

Before Hermione knew it, Emily slashed her wand with an angry hiss and she felt the pain on her face. She lifted her hand and touched the bloody cut running down her cheek, marring her skin.

"There, now you really are _the_ all powerful Hermione Granger everyone worshipped," Emily Vantem hissed. "Everyone thought you were so smart but you just knew some spells and tricks that wouldn't come about till later."

She didn't reply but her eyes shifted briefly to Bellatrix who was raising her wand. "I wonder how loud you scream," the insane woman commented light heartedly as she stroked her hand up and down her wand. "I love hearing screams, they are highly erotic." Her hand stroked the cut across Hermione's cheek. "Do you think so, mudblood? Do you like to hear your lover screaming out in ecstasy? Do you love to hear your victims scream when you bring them pain? They are not that different, you know?"

"You're crazy," Hermione spat, determined not to flinch away.

"Some would say," Bellatrix replied almost sanely, "but I like to think that I'm more in touch with my devious nature." She pressed hard against the cut and Hermione had to bite her lip to stop herself from screaming. "Scream for me, mudblood. I want to hear you scream."

Suddenly the hand was removed from her cheek as a spell was hurled at Bellatrix and the woman went spiralling away. Hermione noticed someone fast approaching but didn't waste any time. "You're mine, Vantem," she said as she knocked the wand away and grabbed her own.

She quickly sent off curse after curse, not pausing to gather her breath or to give Emily time to send one of her own off. She struck the woman with a stinging hex before muttering one of her own that basically knocked the victim out for an extended period of time, their body frozen stiff when they did come to.

She watched as Vantem fell to the ground and then stiffened. She whirled around and saw the person who had hit Bellatrix with the Stupify.

It was a Death Eater.

**A/N: I don't know when I'll get the next chapter up. I'm leaving school next week and I'm on vacation for a week so it MIGHT be two weeks before I actually update. Sorry bout that but I won't be taking my computer with me.**


	9. Iwa

**DISCLAIMER: Sorry to disappoint all of you, but I don't own any of this...**

**READ:**

**This update will most likely drive you CRAZY because it's so cryptic. There are c-l-u-e-s hidden within the text, you have to decide what you need to remember, and what is basically my rambling meant to be ignored. I meant to make it abstract and crazy so...yeah. Have fun.**

_Recap:_

_She watched as Vantem fell to the ground and then stiffened. She whirled around and saw the person who had hit Bellatrix with the Stupify. _

_It was a Death Eater._

**WARNING: SORT OF ABSTRACT AT PARTS. EXPERIMENTAL CHAPTER.**

**Iwa**

Hermione gripped her wand tighter as she stared at the figure before her. She didn't dare to turn away in fear that the enemy would hex her, but at the same time she was wondering why one of Voldemort's followers would help her.

"Not everything is as it seems."

Hermione recognized the whisper of a voice immediately and stiffened even more so. Eyes narrowed in blatant suspicion. "I will hex you." Statement.

He laughed suddenly, obviously amused by her sure attitude. "Of course you will." When she opened her mouth to defend her own words, he raised his hand quickly to stop her. "I was there once, Hermione Granger, and watched how willing you are to hex someone. I was also there when you removed to remove yourself from my life even when threatened."

Hermione didn't say anything as he removed his mask, revealing the face that she already knew lurked behind the skull. She didn't move when he stepped closer to her and reached out his hand hesitantly.

"You remember?"

She didn't pretend to misunderstand and nodded once. His lip twitched up in a half-smirk as he nodded. "Good, less explaining." Then, "We have to bring Dumbledore back. Now."

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTlOvEsHeRfRiEnDs**

Sirius stood alongside James as they continuously shot out curses at Death Eaters. He had Hermione and Harry in his vision since they had first arrived and had seen Ron die. He had nearly been hit with a curse had James not blocked it when he saw the Death Eater go up to Hermione.

"Sirius!"

He whipped his head around quickly and ran to help James who was desperately fighting against four Death Eaters. He took two and left James with two, shouting out every spell he knew.

And then his heart stopped inside his chest.

Hermione was standing atop the hill with a Death Eater with her wand down to her side. Since he could only see the back of the black cloak, he assumed the Death Eater had a wand pointed at her and that was why she wasn't fighting back.

He glanced at James quickly when he saw Hermione reach inside her shirt and saw that he, too, had his eyes trained on the pair. But his eyes, unlike Sirius', were narrowed in suspicion.

"James?"

Hazel eyes shifted to his friend. "Sirius." Eye darted quickly to the pair. "I'll handle that."

Sirius noticed that something was off and immediately caught hold of his arm. "James?"

His friend almost seemed reluctant but he answered, "I saw her put something in her shirt earlier this evening, something she tore out of a Dark Arts book. When I asked her about it, she wouldn't tell me what it said."

"You don't think she's working for the Voldemort, do you?" Sirius watched as his friend tried to say no. "James, she wouldn't just go over to him…"

"You know how adamant he was to get her in the past," James interrupted. "Who's to say that he hasn't tired in this time as well? She could be on his side, Sirius. We know that there's another spy within the Order and, though I hate to say it, it could be her."

"No," Sirius replied although very weakly since, as he turned around, he saw her standing on the hill kneeling beside a fallen Death Eater reading off a piece of parchment. The Death Eater just stood off to the side a bit, his back still facing Sirius, and watched. "No," he repeated, stronger this time, before taking up the hill.

He heard James calling his name behind him but did not stop. "Hermione," he cried out just as he reached the top of the hill. He heard her chanting something in what sounded like Latin but wasn't sure. The Death Eater whipped around when he called out his name and he stopped.

"Malfoy?" he spat with utter distaste. Then, he realized the situation and said, "Get away from her and throw down your wand."

Lucius Malfoy raised himself to his impressive height and glared down his nose at Sirius. "Do you really think I am going to do so just because you ordered me to, Black?" His lip turned up in a sneer of disgust. "And besides, if I was going to hurt her, don't you think I would have by now instead of merely listening to her rattle?"

Sirius growled as a dog would do when getting ready to attack but the gentle singing filling the air stopped him. Hermione had stopped chanting.

"What in Mer…"

The ground gave a violent lurch, throwing both him and Malfoy to the ground. He looked over to see that Hermione had tumbled backwards, a large fissure running along the ground at her feet. Her eyes were closed and Sirius could see where her hands had been burned slightly.

"Hermione," he whispered as he forced himself to his feet to go over to her. A curse stopped him, though, and he quickly spun to face whoever it was that sent it at him. His hand immediately wrapped around the handle of his wand as he drew it up to protect himself.

"I suggest that you do not point that at me, Black," Voldemort hissed. He was on the opposite side of the fissure near Hermione's prone body. His red eyes darted down to look at her and then he waved his wand, causing the parchment to float up to him.

Sirius watched as his red eyes flared with fury before looking back up to glare at him. "Fool," he spat and set the parchment on fire. His eyes moved over to Lucius. "You betrayed me, Lucius, as you have been doing for a while now. Yes, I've known about how you constantly watched over he girl so that she did not get hurt and I did not punish you at the time for I wanted her alive and well. I was hoping that you would seduce her to the Dark side but you have failed me in that retrospect."

Voldemort moved his wand so that it was pointed at the blond's chest. "Did you honestly think that I, the most powerful wizard of them all, would not know that you have been passing on information to the Order?"

Lucius stepped forward proudly, standing straight and tall beside of Sirius. "My loyalties lie with her," he spoke calmly, pointing his finger at the still unconscious form of Hermione. "Whatever side she's on is the side I go with."

Voldemort's eyes flashed as he slowly turned to stare down at Hermione. Sirius wanted nothing more than to run to her side but the fissure had increased in size and he would have to run a ways down the hill to cross where it wasn't so wide or risk jumping.

"Such beauty," the Dark Lord said softly, lifting Hermione's body up with magic, "and such power." He didn't look at Sirius but he knew the man's attention was on him. "She's a worthy addition to my number. My followers will bow before her when I make her my queen."

"She'll never have you!" Sirius shouted, gripping his wand tightly.

"Will she not, Black?" Voldemort placed one pale hand against her cheek and stroked it gently. "She's seduced by the Dark Arts. It calls to her, it runs through her veins and one day she will give into them. She'll be completely mine then."

His hand left her cheek as he left her hovering in the air and turned towards Sirius. "I was going to kill you and let her watch as a last means to push her over the edge, but now I have a better idea. I think I will allow you to live as my prisoner and have her kill you. Don't you think that will be a remarkable end to the last ounce of good encased within her?"

Sirius growled and bared his teeth. The Dark Arts were seducing, he admitted, but he doubted whether Hermione would ever give herself over to them. Still, there was that last ounce of lingering doubt and what James had told him just down the hill.

"You on the other hand," Voldemort said, turning towards Lucius, "are no longer worth anything to me. You are a lame appendage that needs to be amputated before you start to fester."

Hermione began to stir on the ground and her eyes fluttered open just as Voldemort raised his wand on Lucius. She glanced at all the figures before her and managed to shout, "No!," and lunge at the albino man before he said the spell. He teetered forward and fell towards the fissure.

"No," he stated as he grabbed onto her arm, pulling her roughly after him. She dug at the ground to stop her movement as the hole in the ground grew steadily closer. Voldemort was already over halfway into the gap and did not relinquish his hold.

Pleading eyes sought out Sirius as she wrapped her hand around a small branch that stuck in the ground and stopped her movement for all of five seconds. It detached itself from the ground and she had the sensation of falling before her whole world collapsed before her.

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTlOvEsHeRkNiCkErFlOwEr**

Ghostly figures danced within the realms of a dream. Beautiful words escaped easily from the parted lips. A gentle rhythm flowed through the perfumed air.

The world around was a fairytale and yet it was reality encased within a dream.

A soft pillow of the lightest thread laid upon the silk bed. A beacon calling gently with a smooth, willowy voice. Drawing the body into a certain death for when the body is relaxed, the wound is free to fester.

A step forward…

One step back…

Turn away young heroine, turn away lest you face your death.

Steps falter now upon the cold stone floor. An echo within the walls of fortitude and peace. The rhythm falters, words freeze, figures fall.

She alone stands in front of it all before silently turning away

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTlOvEsCoNfUsInGaLlOfYoU**

There seemed to be a lot of noise within the little amount of space allotted for those who were being tended to, which wasn't unnatural considering the circumstances of course. However, the loud roar only seemed to irritate the already throbbing head.

One figure sitting between others, a semi-calm man against the frantic and yet the tide was about to break. It was there, on his expression, as he surveyed the frenetic.

"All of you, just- Stop!" he screamed, hurting his already rough throat. "Stop."

The roar softened to that of a dull whisper as they moved about in the compact area. People awkwardly patted each other on the back as they awaited news with baited breath.

Everything was over now…

There was no more panic, no more screams, and most of all there were no more deaths. Evil had been shoved into a tiny canister for the time being for none of them held false illusions that good had triumphed once and for all.

Amber globes observed the scene carefully, noting all the miniscule details within the mind. The thick black cloth rustled against the rough fabric of the chair. Chin jutted out slightly to the side to get a better angle on the scene, taking in all the sights and sounds while trying to steady the hard pounding within the cavity of the chest.

"I'm scared."

The words were whispered from the person who had screamed earlier. He still sat with head slightly bowed, blood caking his skin though most of it didn't belong to him. Only the stiff lines proclaimed to the world of the scenes that were haunting him.

"We all are," was the reply the comment received. The tone was gruff as if thrying desperately to keep his voice under control.

"What happens now?"

Now more than one pair of eyes were trained on him, calculating his every move. In truth, none were too sure of how to respond; they were each trying to figure it all out.

Finally, one leaned forward, bright emeralds gazing into the softer grey solemnly. "We go on. We put one foot in front of the other and hope for the best."

Control snapped and he jumped forward. "The best? That's all you got to offer? And what exactly is this 'best' that we're supposed to be hoping for exactly?"

He stopped when a hand fell on his shoulder, a younger, less aged hand and yet the knowledge in the eyes were ageless. "A better tomorrow."

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTiSwOnDeRiNgWhEtHeRyOuWaNtToHeXhErYeT**

Out into the valley of the shadow's ground laid the blood of the one.

A twisted sort of obsession slowly evolving became the downfall.

Death twists his silver dagger deep into the festering wound.

No mercy shown to those who show none to the enemy.

Into the Shadow of Death where all lay on display.

A thick blanket of caked red liquid covers.

Distant stars shine above in the sky.

Angel's wings encase the dead.

Souls step from the body.

Death comes for you.

"Minor fractions to the…"

"Frontal lobe is severely….."

"Don't expect too much for the…."

"The rocks really did some serious dam…"

"We repaired as much as we possibly coul…."

"The body seems to be resisting the potions and…"

"Healer Brickman will be in shortly to explain all of…"

"History is not going to repeat itself. It has changed for…"

"It is all over now. Everything is over so just come back to us…"

"If you can hear me, love, I need you to come back to me. I need yo…"

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTpRoMiSeStOsToP**

Harry held the sword in his hand as he surveyed the battleground, blood smeared all over his clothing but he didn't seem to mind it. He had grown quite used to it actually.

He stared up at the sky as it began to darken as day faded into night. They had been on the battle field all day now and most were showing their weariness. He was determined to stay until the last person left, though.

The weeping willow gave a slight groan as it bent towards him and he sent it a small smile. Its branches came around him like a cage but he knew it would not harm him. When he had been in danger, the tree had moved at the last moment to protect him and for that, Harry had sent curses at those who tried to hack off the whirling branches.

"It's over," he whispered as his eyes closed, the vision before him burned into his mind. He sought the magic deep inside of it and allowed it to stretch out, searching for the one lost soul in touch with his and whispered it once again. He felt the gentle strumming of the restless life in response and smiled softly; the power was growing stronger.

He moved Gryffindor's sword down to his hip and attached it there, choosing to gain a better grip on his wand just in case he needed it. He felt rather than heard the presence of someone coming up behind him just after he threw the trash away and knew who it was without even looking.

"It's over," he whispered once more for the intruder.

"Yes, Harry, it is all over." Then came the pause that Harry had expected to hear and he waited. "For now at least and we must be grateful for that alone."

"Yes." Harry watched as Hedwig approached. It would be carrying the update he had requested, though now that it was actually here he was a little apprehensive. It wasn't going to be bad news, he knew, but he wasn't entirely sure that the news would be completely good either.

"Everything will be alright," his companion commented softly, staring at the owl as well.

Harry turned his head slowly to gaze at the older man. "Are you sure of that, sir?"

Blue eyes met green as a smile appeared on the man's face. "Oh yes, Harry, for you see the other outcome is now past and we have overcome it. Now the future rests on Miss Granger's shoulders."

"Sir?"

"She has a decision to make."

**So what was important and what WASN'T? hmm...not telling. There will not be an update until after the 22nd and I will not be answering any emails until after then any because I will not have my computer. Terribly sorry for this inconvience but I desperately need a vacation. Thank you for reading and sticking with me...**


	10. Tekau

**DISCLAIMER: Don't own it..**

**My Apology: So sorry for the delay but it could not be helped. When I got back from Texas, my grandma ended up having surgery and then there were complications and my time has been dedicated to work and her so this has been my only spare moment to update. The situation is touch and go at the moment so I can't promise a date for the next update. Sorry.**

**Tekau**

_August 10, 1998_

There comes a point in life when one has to make a choice; good and evil, right and wrong, life and death. The moment arrives when the traveller arrives at the fork in the intricate pattern which the Fates have graciously weaved. One path may lead to something good and yet it could also end up badly, but the traveller must still choose. Whatever the chooser chooses, it will affect their life. The walker chooses the path and the path agrees with the walker.

Hermione stood at the fork in the blanket of her life watching as the Fates stood nearby, waiting for her to choose which one she was going to take. They wore complacent looks upon their faces, merely staring at her stonily and floating just a little off the ground. Their hands- or what she assumed to be hands- held threads from both paths, just waiting.

She stared down the darkness to the left. It represented Death, a nice ending to a life which had ran its course twice over. She could make out some images in the distance, small almost invisible forms of light of those crossed over.

Her head turned to stare down the slightly lighter right path. It represented Life, another chance to start over and try again. Only one light stood off in the distance, slightly brighter than those on the left and in a more distinct shape. The figure she knew, arms were outstretched in invitation.

Her head turned back to the middle where the three Fates floated patiently. She stared at them, wishing that the choice would be made for her. It would be so easy to walk into Death's embrace and yet a small part of her soul cried out against the very idea.

_Hermione…_

The voice rang from above and even the Fates moved their shiny heads to the dark blanket that lay overhead, eyes searching. Hermione calmly surveyed the darkness. Her name was repeated twice more, softer each time.

'_It is time.'_

Hermione slowly lowered her head so she was staring at the middle Fate who stared steadily back at her. The voice was a soft sound, almost inaudible, though she would never be able to describe the sound if someone asked.

'_Choose.'_

One word and yet it was spoken with such heavy weight that Hermione knew that time had almost ran out for her. It was almost too late to make the choice on her own.

"What if I choose wrong?" She posed the question but she really didn't expect an answer in return. It was her own choice and she would have to live with it.

The one in the middle spread its arms open wide, gesturing to both paths and then they floated back a bit. She drew in a deep breath and then took a deciding step.

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTlOvEsGaRtHnIx**

Sirius Black ran his hands through his hair for what must have been the thousandth time in the past hour. They had finally admitted her to the room which they were currently keeping Hermione, monitoring her vitals. She looked ghostly pale on the crisp white sheets, unmoving and needing help to breathe.

His grey eyes roamed over her still body. He knew they had only let him in to say his goodbyes but he refused to do so. She would not die on him… She couldn't…

"Hermione," he whispered suddenly, jumping forward on the edge of his seat and putting his hand on her forehead. He stroked her hair a couple times then repeated her name once more…than again. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers, letting them linger for a moment.

Thoughts, memories really, flashed quickly through his head as his lips lingered there on hers. He remembered the very first moment he saw her standing beside McGonagall in the Ministry. He remembered the dinner they shared together in the kitchen; it was the first time he really felt that he was getting her to let him in. He remembered their first fight, the first time they made up, and the many fights and make-ups after that. He remembered everything, every little moment in those few seconds that his lips remained on hers.

Then he recalled her third year when he first set eyes on her once again. It had seemed as if he was in a dream when he saw her lying there on that hospital bed only her eyes had been open then. He wanted to forget her, was almost close to doing so, but she was constantly being thrown in his face. Then she had taken that spell for him and almost died…

He had wanted to die at that moment.

He had treated her very poorly and yet she had almost died…to save him.

She had been willing to die so that he wouldn't even though she thought she had done something to make him mad at her. That was the moment he decided to stop trying to forget her and to start trying to make her fall in love with him again.

She loved him, he was sure of it. She displayed it in the little things she did like the way her eyes would always search him out in a room, like the way she would brush against him and yet not draw any attention to themselves when they were in a crowd, like the way she would smile at him while the rest of the world blurred by.

And then there was that conversation he had overheard when she had confessed her love for him, knowing that he was standing there listening. She hadn't given her friends his name but he suspected that Harry had guessed it. She loved him…and now he was about to lose her for the second time.

"I can't lose you," he whispered tearfully against her lips, "not again. Please, love, just come back to me."

He pressed his lips firmly against hers once again, unnerved slightly by the eerie frostiness of them but he kept his there on hers. Remembering…remembering…

He hadn't wanted her to go to war with them that morning, yesterday morning. He had wanted to lock her away in a tall tower where she wouldn't be harmed and throw away the key. He had wanted her to be anywhere but on that battlefield.

But she had remained steadfast in the fact that her place was on the battlefield with Harry, Ron, and everyone else. She had refused his pleas and tried to reassure him. She had some inkling of what would happen and yet she had still insisted on going.

James had planted that small ounce of doubt, he admitted to himself guiltily, and he had shamefully jumped on it the instant he saw her standing on the hill with Lucius Malfoy. He thought briefly that maybe she would betray them, that maybe she had known that the Light might lose and thus went to the other side into the waiting arms of Malfoy.

Then she had collapsed and his heart had fallen in his chest as the space grew between them. When Voldemort had shown up, he had almost collapsed in fear for her himself. He wanted to jump the fissure, not caring how wide the gap was, and block her from him.

But he had been unable to and once again she had saved him- and Malfoy- from dying and was now possibly dying herself…again. And yet again he couldn't save her.

He pressed his lips a little harder, more urgent, against hers as he squinted his eyes up tightly against the knowledge that he had failed her yet again. He didn't want to think; all he wanted at that moment was to be able to hold her in his arms once more and announce to the word that she was his for all eternity. All he wanted was to have her brown eyes gaze up at him once more and have her say that she loves him too…just once more.

He parted his lips just slightly over hers and inhaled her scent. His hand shook on her forehead as did his other one which was lightly touching her arm which laid by her side. He squeezed his eyes tighter, fighting the tears.

"I love you," he whispered softly before slowly pulling back.

"Me too," came the weak answer.

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTlOvEsHeRwAlLoFgOrGeOuSmEn**

_Tap…tap…_

A mixture of hazel, brown, blue, green, and amber followed the line of the impeccably dressed man as he made his tenth trip up and down the hall in the past half hour. It would have been more but he wasn't one to rush in his step even if he was clearly agitated.

_Tap…tap…_

The steady rise and fall of the cane equalled that of the measured steps. A soft click almost as it hit the tiled floor of the hospital floor. His face was a mask of indifference though his eyes displayed his true feelings to the world.

_Tap…tap…_

Now he was level with those who sat in chairs watching him walk back and forth. He paused for a moment, his eyes moving swiftly to the Healers and Medi Witches that roamed the corridors before grimacing slightly and starting his walk again.

"You know, pacing doesn't do anything except wear the floor out."

As he rounded, his cloak swirled around his legs and his grey eyes narrowed furiously. "If I wanted your opinion, werewolf, I would have asked for it."

The man beside said werewolf jumped to his feet, clenching his fists angrily. "Now listen here, Malfoy, you're not exactly wanted here and you're still under suspicion so I'd watch what you say."

The woman beside him gently laid her hand on his arm in a comforting gesture. "James, darling, sit back down. He's just as worried as us."

James glared at Malfoy for another few seconds before sitting back down beside of Lily and Remus. He leaned back slightly in his chair and crossed his arms, his eyes locked steadily on the again pacing figure. Then he slowly turned to his wife and whispered, "She'll be alright, right?"

Lily hesitated for a second too long and James had his answer. He sighed and dropped his head even as she took his hand in hers and gave it a small squeeze. Remus, having super werewolf hearing as James often joked, heard too and patted his arm reassuringly.

"She's made it through worst times," he said softly. "She's not dead yet which is always hopeful. We can't give up on her just yet."

"Sirius won't let her die," Lauri said softly.

"You pesky woman," Lucius growled as he whirled around, "like that mangy mongrel really has any control over whether she lives or dies."

"Why don't you just shut it, Malfoy?" James practically yelled, his anger getting the better of him. "Better yet, how about you leave?"

"James," Lily hissed, tugging on his sleeve. "Sit down now."

"That's right, why don't you sit down like your little wife says?" Lucius taunted.

"Will you both just stop!" Declan cried, jumping to his feet. "None of you are helping matters at all. Hermione is laying in there on a bed dying and you're out here bickering. She could _die_. Don't you understand that?"

Lauri stood up and wrapped her arms tightly around her son. "We understand that, sweets. We're all worried about her and some of us," she glared pointedly at both Lucius and James, "can't deal with it."

"Everything alright over here?"

They all turned to look at the young Medi Witch who was clutching some charts to her chest and observing them with mild interest. "Fine, now go," barked Lucius and the young woman jumped. Remus then said, "Everything is fine," and she seemed to calm down slightly.

She then turned and walked off with a slight nod. They all watched as she walked off, all except for Lucius of course who considered it below his station to watch after a mere Medi Witch. Declan resumed his seat beside of Rachel and placed an arm around her shoulders, hugging her just a little.

Each then turned away slightly, lost in their own little world while Lucius resumed his pacing. They were each worried about Hermione in their laying in the bed but they were also wondering what was happening at the battlefield where Harry was still at.

None of them noticed the many Healers brushing by as they rushed down the hallway, each carrying various instruments and closely followed by Medi Witches. None of them noticed the activity centring around the room just down the hall.

Suddenly James sat up straight and penned Lucius with a scrutinizing look. "Snape wasn't at the battle." It was a statement but he expected an answer of sort.

Lucius scoffed loudly. "Of course he wasn't. He would have been killed by both the Order and the Dark Lord if he had."

That caught all of their attention as they looked at him curiously. Lauri, who rather hated being kept in the dark, waved her hand in an extravagant manner. "Explain."

"Look, we knew that Draco was told to kill Dumbledore and we also knew that he wouldn't be able to do that so Severus went to Dumbledore about it." Lucius paused and screwed up his lips slightly as if remembering. "Severus came to the manor in the fit that night because obviously Dumbledore told him that he would have to do the task to save Draco."

"That doesn't explain why Voldemort would want to kill him," James said when Lucius stopped. He crossed his arms. "Seems to me that Voldemort would want to reward him."

Lucius opened his mouth to snap back but was cut off by a new voice. "I think I could explain that." They all turned to their head to the side and gasped. Standing before them was Albus Dumbledore. He smiled at Lucius. "Severus is at his house when you are done here. He may need to company."

"Headmaster?" Rachel questioned softly and then she was wrapping her arms around him. "You're not dead," she said, squeezing him.

He chuckled softly and patted her back. "Of course not and I'll be happy to explain." Rachel let go of him and stepped back, smiling at him. She backed to her own seat and squeezed Declan's hand.

"You see, I asked Severus to kill me because I knew I wouldn't truly be dead. With a little prodding I knew that Miss Granger would discover the way to bring me back. I died willingly for another person thus putting my soul into a limbo in which it would stay up to one year waiting for someone to bring me back. Of course it's Dark magic so I was depending on Miss Granger's naturally curious nature."

"How does Snape play into all of this though?" James asked.

"Severus had to kill me because I trusted him to do it quickly to save Mr. Malfoy. He couldn't tell anyone on the Order of course because it had to look as if I had really died- which I did in a way- meaning that the emotion had to be real at the funeral. I'm quite sorry for not telling anyone but it was quite necessary."

"Of course," Lily replied even though her voice was soft and unsure.

"Miss Granger, with a little assistance from Lucius here, performed the ritual beautifully although I'm sad to say that no one knew that her energy would be temporarily drained. I did expect some sort of after effect which is why I asked Severus to get her assistance but I never expected it would have such an extreme effect and for that I am sorry."

Then there was a rustling and the door opened. Harry entered the waiting room with blood still coating his skin and clothes. There were dark circles around his eyes and his posture displayed just how tired he really was.

"Hey," he sighed groggily, "any news?"

"Not yet," Lily said, patting the empty seat next to her which he gladly took, "but it's not looking too good at the moment or that's what they're telling us."

He didn't respond, just bowed his head and shook it a couple times. Lily rubbed his back comfortingly. James leaned forward and look at his eldest child. "She's a fighter, Harry. She's came back befo…"

He stopped suddenly, realizing what he said, and Harry's head shot up. Lily and Lauri both glared at James for his slip while Remus and Lucius both just huffed. "What do you mean by that?" Harry questioned.

"Er…," James looked towards his wife for help but she simply shook her head and muttered, "You got yourself into this, you can explain."

"I don't think now is the right time," Remus muttered from where he sat. Lauri from beside him nodded her head slowly. However, now Rachel and Declan were interested too and were pressuring the adults for an answer.

Something seemed to click in Harry's head at that moment as he looked around. "Hey, where's Sirius? I thought he was alright. He's not hurt is he?"

"Er…not exactly," James answered slowly.

"I don't understand," Harry said slowly, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

Luckily- or maybe unluckily- no one really had to answer the question as the man in question came bursting into the waiting room at that exact moment. They all looked at him as he tried to catch his breath.

"What's wrong?" Remus asked.

"Hermione…," he gasped, "she's…"

**Thanks for not killing me and waiting patiently for me...**


	11. Tekau ma tahi

**DISCLAIMER: Sorry to have to break your hearts, but I don't own Harry Potter**

**PLEASE READ THE ENTRY AT THE BOTTOM!**

**Tekau ma tahi**

"Hermione…," he gasped, "she's…"

When his voice seemed to fail him, James took a hold of his lapels and gave him a little shake. "Pads? What's up with Hermione? She's what?"

"She's awake," Sirius gasped, placing his hands on James' shoulders with a childish grin. "She's awake and talking, James. That means she's going to be alright, right?"

"It means we can hope now," James said with a grin of his own and then turned and hugged his son tightly. "We can hope…"

"Can we go in and see her?" Harry asked his godfather, his eyes displaying his hope.

"Not right at this second, the Healers are checking her over to make sure she's alright. They practically shoved me out of the room."

"Sirius," Lily said, stepping forward to touch his arm, "is she really alright? What did she say? Was she in pain?"

Sirius hesitated ever so slightly and the adults, those who knew their history, understood that the brief exchange of words had been private. The children, however, did not know and thus proceeded to poke and prod him for more information.

"Perhaps someone should remove them until she is able to handle visitors," Lucius Malfoy smoothly interjected, drawing attention to himself. Harry noticed him for the first time and his face hardened visibly. "Relax, Potter, I'm not here to hurt you. I am merely here to make sure that Hermione is alright."

"Why would you care?" Harry practically hissed.

Lucius raised himself up to his very impressive height and glared down at Harry. "That is none of your business, boy."

"She's my best friend so it is my business." If it wasn't for the fact that he was going up against Lucius Malfoy, everyone would have been impressed. As it was, Harry was quite worn out from the battle- even if he would not admit it- and Lucius could easily hex him.

A malicious sneer appeared on the blond aristocrat's face and the adults instantly tensed up. "Did you ever think that she could have possibly had another best friend before you, Potter?"

Harry was quite torn between unbelievable anger and curiosity. First there was that little offhand comment from his father not ten minutes before hand and now Malfoy was implying…

Implying what? he asked himself. He thought back to the time when Hermione had thrown herself in front of Sirius during their fifth year to save him and the way his godfather had been devastated. It took Remus and James a long time to convince him that Hermione was going to be alright…

Then his mind reeled to the day when neither him or Ron could get Hermione to come out of her room. She had locked herself away and they had tried for a long time to get her to come out. Then, Sirius had merely showed up, ushered them away, and walked in. She hadn't kicked him out.

And then there was that incident yesterday morning when he found Sirius in Hermione's room. She had babbled off some nonsense about him coming in to make sure that she was awake and he had let it go merely because he was nervous. But now…

Now he wasn't so sure.

He turned his head to see that Sirius was gazing down the hall at the door of Hermione's room where Healers were bustling in and out. No, he wasn't so sure now.

"Harry," his mother urged, pressing his arm lightly to gain his attention, "I know that you're probably really confused right now and that…"

"Confused?" He gave a little laugh. "I don't know anything anymore. What I do know is that sometime in the past six years, Malfoy has suddenly reconciled all his differences with Hermione and is here, you all are keeping something important from us, and apparently there's some sort of connection between Hermione and Sirius."

The adults- most of them anyway- stared at him with their mouths slightly parted while the other half watched the activity down the hall. Finally James turned to his wife and said, "He's good."

"Of course I'm good," Harry scoffed, "I'm the bloody Boy-Who-Lived, or haven't you been listening to the rambling over the years?"

Rachel came up with Declan in tow and nudged her mum. "Can we go in and see Hermione yet?" she asked innocently. She had been the only one not present at the battle to see the state Hermione was in.

Lily placed one arm around her daughter's shoulders and hugged lightly, dropping a kiss on the top of her head while she was at it. "Not yet, sweetie. They're still trying to heal her. Hopefully it won't be too long, though."

"But mom," Rachel whined but stopped at a look from her mother. Declan and Harry both placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and Harry gave her a slight nod. 

"You're falling asleep, kiddo," Harry said gently. "Why don't I take you and Declan back home so you can get some sleep and then I'll come back and get you later on? By that time, Hermione should be able to receive visitors."

Rachel looked dubious for a moment but Harry gave her a small smile and she calmed a bit. "Come on kiddo, Declan, I think the adults want to talk without us hearing anyway."

James and Lily both gave him a thankful smile as he led the other two out. They were thankful for Harry giving them about twenty good minutes to talk without having to censor their conversation.

As soon as they were out of hearing distance, Lauri rushed to Sirius' side. "So she was really talking, Sirius? Did she seem like she was going to be alright?"

"She only said a few words to me before she passed back out again, but in those few minutes she seemed alright," Sirius answered, rubbing his forehead a bit. "She's still quite pale, though. The Healers didn't let me stay in the room long after I called for them so I don't really know if she's going to be alright."

"She will be," Remus assured his friend. "This is Hermione we're talking about."

"She was older then, Lupin," Lucius snapped, hitting his cane lightly on the floor. "She knew a bit more and had others to back her up. We don't even know what is wrong with her now."

"It's not a matter of how much she knows or what she's faced," Sirius growled, his eyes narrowing on the blond aristocrat, "what matters is the fact that she is now lying in a hospital bed and we don't know what quite happened besides the fact that her and Voldemort went tumbling into that fissure."

James was shaking his head slightly off to the side. "I still don't understand how she got out of there. I saw it after you brought her here, Sirius, and that hole is deep."

"Magic works in mysterious ways," Dumbledore cajoled from where he was sitting. "Not everything has to be explained with simple logic."

Sirius stared at him for a moment or two before turning away with an aggrieved look on his face. "I just want her to be alright," he whispered softly. "I don't how she was saved or anything, I just can't lose her…not again."

Sirius fell into one of the seats and put his head in his hands. "How's Molly and Arthur doing?"

"They have suffered in this war too much," Lily said softly. "We should have stopped it; we knew that they were going to die just from what Hermione had told us and we could have stopped it."

"But you weren't supposed to," Dumbledore injected softly. "Everything happens for a reason."

"But we already stopped other things from happening," Lily argued weakly, James' arm around her waist supporting her. "What would one more life matter?"

"Quite a lot actually," Dumbledore said. "You would be surprised how much Hermione affected the timeline by dying for Harry that night."

"What would have happened?" Lauri inquired.

"To the best of my knowledge, only two people know the full extent of what would have happened- Hermione and Falco. The latter won't tell unless Hermione gives him permission to do so. Your only hope of finding out the truth would be to ask Hermione."

They all stared at Dumbledore explained it. Sirius then lowered his head once more into his hands.

"What if she dies?" The question was posed by Lucius and everyone, except for Sirius who simply stiffened, looked first at him then to Dumbledore. "What then? Everything would have been for naught."

Dumbledore didn't say anything for a few moments and then slowly leaned back in his seat. "It is in my opinion that Hermione is a fighter and I doubt she'd give up so easily when she has worked so hard to make things as they are now."

"She may not want to give up but I saw her, Dumbledore," Lucius hissed, "and I saw the shape she was in when she was blown out of that hole. She's weak at the moment."

"Damn you, Malfoy," Sirius growled. "She never gave up hope on you, you bastard, so don't you dare stand there and give up hope on her."

Lucius stared at him for a moment and it was as if years of hatred and feuding lifted for just a second. Then, surprisingly, Lucius bent his head slightly in acquiesce and took a seat near the door. Sirius didn't say anything from that moment on and merely put his head back into his hands.

There was a break in the conversation as everyone just sat there uncomfortably. Then, "I just wish they would tell us _something_."

"They're healers, they won't say anything until they absolutely have to." Lauri laid her head down on her husband's arm. "I say we trap one of them and get the information by force if necessary."

Lily smiled at her friend. "You always were too dramatic for your own good."

"It would get us some information," Lily replied, closing her eyes with a hearty sigh. "I never have liked hospitals. Too many doctors congregated together."

"I think that's the point of a hospital, love," Remus said with a teasing grin.

"Shut up," she muttered darkly.

James leaned over to peer into his wife's bag. "Hey Lily-bug, did you bring anything to snack on by chance?"

"James, I don't think you need food and if you do, you can wait. You've had something already," Lily answered. When he went to reach into it, she slapped his hand away.

"Hey! I was actually getting it for Sirius. We've had a snack but he hasn't ate anything yet."

"I'll be fine," came the reply from under a shaggy black mop, muffled by a hand.

"Starving yourself isn't going to help, Pads," James argued.

"Shut up."

"I don't want to…"

"No, really, shut up," Sirius said raising his head. "Do you not hear it?"

James looked about as confused as the others. "Hear what?"

"The silence," Sirius answered and then jumped to his feet quickly, moving to where he could better see Hermione's door. "They're no longer chattering about. It's quiet."

They listened for a few minutes. "You're right," Lauri said softly, moving forward to stand beside of him. "It's too quiet."

A young healer came stumbling out of the room and headed in their direction. He made the unfortunate choice of trying to pass discreetly on Sirius' side who decided Lauri's earlier plan was a good one. Reaching out quickly, he grabbed the young man by the scruff of his shirt and pressed him up against the wall, wand out and pointed dangerously.

"Listen youngster, I've been killing people all night so one more person isn't going to affect me in any way so either tell me how she is, or I will hex you into oblivion where not even the best doctors could save you."

The deep, echoing 'gulp' emitted from the healer showed just how scared he was, though he was still visibly shaking quite a lot. "I…I…I don't know whether…"

"Whether what?" Sirius growled, pressing himself closer.

Another gulp. "I can tell you anything," he whispered, almost scared.

"Too bad for you then," Sirius replied as he drew back his hand as if to strike. Harry came in right at that moment and caught his hand, stopping him from punching the young man.

"It's not going to help at all," Harry whispered into his godfather's ear.

Sirius seemed to take his words to heart, or else he just didn't want to be bothered with actually punching the man, and let him go. "Tell whoever can tell me anything to get down here. Now."

The young man scampered off down the hall, shooting furtive looks back towards Sirius as he hurried along. Sirius didn't even bother with staring at him as he ran and instead slumped against the wall. His eyes were sad as they gazed down the hall, hope beginning to flicker slightly.

Harry stepped closer to him and leaned towards him slightly. "There's something between you and Hermione, isn't there?"

Sirius didn't even show any sign of surprise at the question as he replied, "Yes."

Harry nodded once and bent his head slightly before lifting it back up to look at his godfather. "Do you love her?"

This time, Sirius raised his head up just slightly and turned it to look straight into Harry's eyes. Without hesitation, he answered with a resound, "Yes."

"Alright then," Harry replied with a nod.

A Healer approached Sirius at that moment, carrying a clipboard. "Mr. Black?"

"Yes?"

"We have stabilized Miss Granger and she's doing alright now. She's awake at the moment but we're going to give her some stuff to sleep for a little bit; rest will only speed up the healing process."

"May I go in with her now?" he asked hopefully.

The Healer paused, thinking about it. "Maybe just for a little bit. She might not let us give her something to sleep if you're going to be in there. She's been asking for you."

Sirius didn't need to hear another word and immediately headed off down the hallway. Harry stared after him and turned to the Healer. "Thank you."

"It's our job, Mr. Potter." The Healer stared at him for a moment. "Would you like me to fix up your wounds? I can do it rather quickly and have you back out."

Harry opened his mouth to refuse but Lily rushed in to say, "Yes, will you please and then can you make sure that someone heals Sirius as well? He refused healing until he heard whether Hermione was going to be alright or not."

The Healer smiled. "I will send someone to tend to him. Follow me, Mr. Potter."

Lily walked back to the group. "Hermione's stable. They let Sirius in to see her for a little bit and then they're going to give her something to sleep. They're fixing Harry up now and he told me that he would make sure that Sirius got some treatment."

"That's good," James nodded, patting the seat beside him for Lily to sit back down.

Dumbledore stood from his chair. "I think I would like a quick word to Miss Granger before they give her anything. Excuse me."

James went to say something to him to stop him but Lily laid a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Don't," she mouthed with a slight shake of his head. He nodded to her and turned to simply watch Dumbledore head down the hallway.

A few people stared at him in slight amazement as he went for the simple reason that he was supposed to be dead but other than that, no one questioned him. He smiled at a few that he recognized and nodded to those who he didn't.

The door to Hermione's room was cracked slightly and he stood outside for just a minute. Sirius was sitting on Hermione's bed stroking her forehead in a tender way. He smiled at her before bending to press a kiss to her forehead.

"You scared me," he whispered into her hair. "I don't want to lose you again, love."

She smiled back at him. Her smile faltered slightly as she stared at him. "You do think I did the right thing in changing the past, right?" she asked softly. "Tell me that I was right."

"Hermione, love, I can't tell you that because I don't know what happened before but I do know it had to be bad for you to change it. You made your choice for a reason so I can only assume it was choice."

Hermione rolled her head away and closed her eyes. "I just don't know anymore, Sirius, I just don't know." She sighed softly, and opened her eyes back up. "Ron's dead, Ginny's dead, what difference did I make?"

"You made a lot of difference," he comforted her, grabbing her hand and giving it a squeeze. "We're together, love, and that's what you need to concentrate on."

Dumbledore chose that moment to knock on the door and enter. "Hello Sirius, Hermione. Sirius, I was wondering whether I could have a quick word with Hermione in private."

Sirius looked hesitant but Hermione squeezed his hand and said, "Go on. I need to talk to him anyway. I want to talk to you again before they give me those awful potions."

Sirius chuckled softly and dropped a kiss on her brow. "Alright, love. I'll talk to you in a bit."

Sirius left the room and Dumbledore took a seat on the chair beside Hermione's bed, scooting it up closer so that they could talk. He smiled at her. "I think I should start off by thanking you for bringing me back, Hermione. I'm glad that you remembered what I told you about the white phoenix."

"It's good to have you back, Headmaster."

"I'm not sure whether I'm going to do that anymore, but that's not the reason I wanted to talk to you. As you know, the Verus Fatum offered you a choice and you made your choice based on how your life went before."

"Yes."

"Well, now you have another choice. You now know how it can end up this way."

"Yes," Hermione said again, a bit confused.

"So now you have a choice to make." He paused and Hermione hated the dramatic effect. "You can go on with it like this or you can redo it. Which do you want to do."

With that, he pulled out the Verus Fatum and held it out to her. Hermione opened her mouth and then shut it, her eyes trained on the gold object.

**Sorry my timing with the whole updating thing has been off...I don't have internet at my house so I have to go down to my Grandma Gertie's to get it...I'm warning you though, my updates will take a bit longer 'cause I just got a job that will take up most of my time, especially since I will not have a set schedule and will work odd hours that will torture me to no end... I'm deeply sorry about this but I need the money to pay off the buckoos of money that I owe the stupid institution that they call "college"...**

**Thanks for reading and staying with me...you guys are wonderful!!!**


	12. Tekau ma rua

**DISCLAIMER: I obviously do not own Harry Potter since I am not J.K. Rowling...**

**AUTHOR APOLOGY: Okay, so I know I dropped off the face of the earth for a while and I am SOOOOO sorry for that. I have had so much going on in my life that has prevented me from doing anything outside of work basically. I am moving back to Virginia, though, so the updates will be coming regularly again once I do move... Sorry again.**

**Tekau ma rua**

Sunsets and sunrises are spectacular things for people who actually take the time to stop and gaze at them in appreciation. The colours cast upon the sky from the receding light amazes and often leaves a person breathless. Everything comes back to the person, though, and whether they will take the time to stop and appreciate the beauty.

Sirius Black was not one to usually stop and enjoy the scene. Actually, he used to but then when he had lost Hermione for the first time, he had stop appreciating the small beauties that life provided.

But now, as he stood in front of the window at St. Mungo's, watching the sunset, he relaxed and watched the different colours form on the sky's horizon. He remembered the times in the past when he had sat with Hermione watching the sun sink or rise above the horizon. They hadn't talked in those moments; they had simply enjoyed each others' company.

He drew in a deep breath and let closed his eyes, letting it out slowly. He leaned forward and rested his forehead against the glass, the coldness sinking into his hot skin.

"Sirius?"

Grey eyes flickered opened, the colours burning into his mind. He knew by the slight difference of smells in the air that both James and Remus was standing behind him, though James was the one to speak.

"Yes?"

"What are you doing out here?" James moved forward to stand beside him at the window, his hazel eye turned out towards the sunset as well.

"Thinking," he answered gruffly.

Remus stepped up on his other side, hands in his pocket and rocking back and forth on his heels. "Why aren't you in there with Hermione?"

"They gave her some potions to sleep a while ago. She made me promise that I wouldn't stay in the room very long after they gave them to her." He leaned his head back slightly. "She's just a little freaked out at the moment I think."

"I'd say," James commented. "She's just woken up and everything's changed, plus she almost died on top of that. Come to think of it, she almost dies quite a lot."

Sirius rolled his head over to the side and narrowed his eyes on his best friend. "Thanks, James. Way to be a great friend."

"What?" James asked innocently.

Remus chuckled softly from the other side of Sirius. "James, you can be rather dense sometimes."

"I am not dense, thank you very much," James replied hotly. "I like to think I am rather smart."

"Yes, James, _you_ like to think," Sirius said with a small laugh, playfully punching his friend in the arm lightly. "Doesn't mean that we think so."

"And to think that I call you guys my friends," he said with a shake of his head though there was a small smile on his face. "If I recall correctly, I was the Head Boy."

"And we're still wondering how you managed that one," Sirius teased, pushing James lightly. "Remus, here, was the school nut. Lily I could understand, you not so much."

"That little detail just proves how much Lily and I were made for each other," James explained with a huff. "Even Dumbledore understood how much we were meant to be together."

"Sure," both Sirius and Remus said, smiling at each other.

James just rolled his eyes and then straightened his robes. "Anyway, we were just coming to check on you since we hadn't seen you in a while."

"I'm fine," Sirius responded. "I just had an urge to watch the sunset like the old times."

"With Hermione," Remus added softly.

"Yes," he responded, nodding. He turned his gaze back to the sky which was now a deep purplish colour as the sun had completely disappeared below the horizon. "I haven't watched the sunset since the night before she died twenty some years ago. She's going to be alright so I guess I can relax now…"

Neither Remus or James said anything but that didn't really matter to Sirius. He knew that he had Hermione back now and for that he was glad.

"Excuse me, Auror Black, Auror Potter," a younger woman said as she walked up to them with Ministry robes on. Sirius knew that she worked for the new Minister, though he could really care less about her specific title.

"What?" he asked rather rudely.

"You each have new assignments. Auror Potter, you will be stationed at Hogwarts as one of the guards while the school is fixed up for the next school year."

"That doesn't sound so bad," James said, "a bit boring, mind you, but not that bad."

"And me?"

"Auror Black, your orders are to go with a special team to round up rogue Death Eaters." Sirius started to protest but she cut him off. "You will serve for a duration of one year and then you may return for someone else will take your place."

"I have family to think about," Sirius argued. "My…my…." To be quite honest, he wasn't really sure what to call Hermione. She wasn't technically his fiancée still, nor was she his girlfriend.

"The Ministry is quite aware of Miss Granger and the situation, and that will be dealt with accordingly when she recovers."

All three men tensed up while Sirius took a threatening step towards her. "What do you mean 'that will be dealt with accordingly'? There's nothing to deal with."

The woman bristled and straightened up to her full height. "The Ministry does not agree, Auror Black. Miss Granger knowingly altered time and thus will have to be punished."

Sirius would have grabbed her if James and Remus hadn't grabbed his arms, pinning them down to his side. "You will not touch her, understand?"

An evil looking smile appeared on the woman's face as she turned away, calling over her shoulder, "I think that is for the Ministry to decide, don't you? Good day."

Sirius growled low in his throat as both James and Remus restrained him from chasing after her. He jerked his arms free and spun around angrily, kicking out at the wall.

"Damn them!" he practically yelled.

"Pads, we'll do something, we promise," James tried to reassure him. "Lily and Lauri will protect her, you know that. Plus now we have Dumbledore to fight on our side."

Sirius shook his head sadly. "That may not be enough this time." He sighed, running his hands through his hair. "I'm going to go wait for Hermione to wake up."

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTdOeSnTlIkeLiFeAtThEmOmEnT**

Harry went home around midnight at the persistent urging of both his mum and dad and went straight to bed. The Gryffindor sword was now sitting on his dresser, stained red on some parts of the silver blade. It was actually the sword that woke him up when the light struck it at a certain angle and thus sent the light propelling into his eyes.

Harry groaned loudly and rolled over, blinding reaching for his glasses that he was sure he had put on his bedside table. The muggle clock read eight forty-nine which, to Harry, was a good time to get up. Not too early and not too late.

He stretched, some of his limbs still sore but for the most part he was better. The Healer had provided him with some potions to help with the soreness. He downed one vial of a blue coloured potion and half of another. He took out some of the balm and rubbed it on his shoulders, enjoying the cooling sensation running down his arms.

His door slowly creaked open and he looked up, smiling at Rachel as she peeked in. "It's alright, you can come in if you want."

She needed no more prodding as she swung the door open all the way and propelled herself at her older brother, hugging him tightly. He bit his lip to keep from groaning at the impact and hugged her back. "Hey squirt," he smiled into her hair.

She turned her face up to him and he had to admit that she could pull off the puppy eyes quite well. Damn Sirius for teaching her. "You're going to be alright, right? You're not going to be in the hospital like Hermione, are you?"

"I'm fine," he stressed, "and Hermione's fine. She woke up last night and she's just now regaining her strength and then she can come home."

Rachel eyes filled with hope. "Is she going to stay with us since she doesn't have a home anymore?"

Harry hesitated. Would she stay with them or would she go with Sirius? He had a strong suspicion that it would be the latter but he didn't want to say so and then be wrong. "I honestly don' know, squirt. We'll just have to wait and see. Don't badger her about it though."

"So you're saying that I get to go see her?"

"I'm just saying that when you see her, don't badger her about it and let her decide on her own," Harry clarified. "Is Mrs. Weasley still downstairs?"

"She's cooking," Rachel answered with a worried frown. "The whole kitchen is filled with food by now; there's no room to move around anymore but she just keeps cooking."

"That's her way with dealing." Harry stood and stretched his arms above his head, enjoying the fact that his shoulder muscleswere no longer sore. "Come on, let's go down."

He attempted to flatten his hair while they walked down the stairs but it still stuck up in its usual stubborn fashion and he gave up with a heavy sigh. Rachel grinned at him then, rolling her eyes at his messy hair. She was the lucky one that ended up on the good side of the gene pool when it came to hair.

The kitchen door swung open easily when he pushed it but stopped halfway when it struck something. "What the…?" He peered around and saw a chair shoved up against the door with two large pans of muffins stacked on it.

His eyes slowly roamed the room, taking in the scene. Muffins, biscuits, and scones galore filled the room, only leaving enough room for Mrs. Weasley to move around to prepare more. She was muttering to herself as she moved about, measuring out ingredients and mixing them together. She had some flour on her cheeks and her hair was a bit wild. Harry briefly wondered where Mr. Weasley was.

"Mrs. Weasley?" he questioned, stepping into the room after motioning for Rachel to give him a few minutes alone with her.

"Molly, dear," she said, not even turning to him. "Can't have the world's saviour calling me 'Mrs. Weasley' like some child, now can I? You're practically an adult now so no worries."

"Alright, Molly." He stepped up behind her, blocking her in so she would have to face him sooner or later. "Are you doing alright?"

"Of course I'm doing alright," she answered briskly with a small laugh that sounded fanatical. "Why ever would I not be, Harry?"

"It's alright to cry, Molly."

"Crying takes time; grieving takes time." Harry could see that she almost broke down at that but she brought herself back just before that happened, wiping at her cheeks and spreading more flour onto them. "I don't have time…have to cook…so much cooking left to do…so many people."

She sounded hysterical. She was rambling, her hands shaking as she reached out for the measuring cups. Harry reached out and grabbed hold of her hands, turning her towards him and wrapping his arms around her. "Grieving needs to happen," he whispered into her ear as he held her tightly despite her struggling, "even if it takes time."

"I need to cook for them," she whispered, her voice breaking as tears choked her. "Ron would have wanted food, you know. He would be down here right now pillaging through everything for something to eat. I need to get him something to eat…"

She broke down then, the tears spilling from her eyes as she clutched on to him. Her body shook with the loud sobs, her head buried in his chest.

Harry rubbed her back soothingly. "It's alright to cry for them, Molly, and it's certainly alright to take time to grieve for that starts the healing process."

"They're my children," she cried, squeezing him tighter.

"I know, Molly, I know," he whispered as he just let her cry.

The door opened and Rachel walked back in with Lily just behind her. His mum looked at the situation he was in and merely nodded in approval, a smile on her face. At that moment, even though they had lost some important people, he knew it was going to be alright. (Blaze is crying right now as she reads this….sniff)

**AmAyAtHeGrEaThAsAsOrEtHrOaTtHaNkStObRaNdY**

Sirius shuffled his legs as he readjusted himself in the stiff hospital chair beside Hermione's bed for what must have been the sixth time in that hour alone. The potions they had given her were still in affect for she was still out, the colour slowly returning to her face.

His eyes landed on the new scar on her cheek, the same one she had had when he had first met her directly before his seventh year. She had insisted that they not remove the scar when she had been awake, wanting to keep the reminder like she had all those years ago. He hadn't had the chance to ask her who gave it to her.

His gaze shifted down her body as he checked her for further wounds, satisfied when he saw none, or rather no really serious ones. She had some bruises but those would easily heal themselves over time. There was also a rare cut here and there that wasn't major enough for them to heal at first. Those would be treated later when the major things had been taken care of.

He leaned forward a bit and touched her hand, moving his along hers so that his palm fit against hers. He marvelled at the colour contrast and the different textures. Where his were rough and tanned, hers were smooth and a whitish colour. It was almost like he was seventeen again and taking her hand in his for the first time.

He slowly smiled, locking his fingers in hers while he stared at them. He lifted her hand up slightly from the bed and moved it, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. He then moved his face down and pressed a soft kiss to the back of her hand, letting his lips linger there for a moment or two.

"Love you," he whispered onto her hand, closing his eyes as he inhaled her scent.

He felt her fingers flex against his. His eyes snapped open to watch her face as her eyes fluttered slightly, once, twice, and then again before opening, the brown orbs looking around slowly in a sleepy state before resting on him.

A groggy smile appeared on her face as her eyes lighted up, still glazed over from the potions. "Hey you, I thought I told you to stay out."

He grinned at her, giving her hand another squeeze. "I haven't been in here for too long. Besides, did you really think that I was going to stay out for long?"

"No, you never stay out," she replied, bringing her hand up to rub at her eyes. "Every time I've been in the hospital, you've always been right there, or threatening the doctors if they didn't let you in."

"I did that earlier," he said with a smile, "and I always win."

"You're here," she said slowly, another slow, lazy grin appearing on her face. "You're always here and I love you for being here."

He chuckled softly and turned, picking up a vial of potion the doctors had left for her to take upon waking that would 'sober her up' so to speak. "Here, love, I need you to drink this."

She obediently held out her hand for it and gulped it down in one swing. Then, she grimaced as the taste hit her and made a face at him. "That was awful."

"Most useful potions usually are," he told her, tapping her nose teasingly with one finger. "But I bet you that was better than remaining in the state you were in a moment before."

Her eyes were now crystal clear as she looked at him, a spark in her eye. "Yes, I suppose it was. However, that still doesn't make the taste any better."

"Ah, but you are a good girl and you take your medicines," he chuckled as he dropped a kiss where he had just tapped her nose.

She stared at him for a moment, a calculating look in her eyes. "Something is wrong, isn't it?" When he didn't answer, she pulled her hand from his. "Sirius, tell me now what's wrong. Don't lie to me either."

He opened his mouth slightly, drawing in a deep breath as if stalling. "Hermione, the Ministry knows everything. I don't think they everything clicked before but they've finally connected the dots and figured it out."

"Oh," she said, releasing her breath. Then, "Bugger."

He smiled despite himself. "Yeah, bugger."

She reached up and rubbed her hair, trying to flatten it out a bit. "So, um, what is going to happen?" she asked softly, looked at him through her lashes.

He leaned over and picked back up her hand, giving it a light squeeze. "I don't know exactly yet," he answered honestly. He didn't lift his gaze so she would know he wasn't lying to her.

Her brown eyes lifted to his. "What do you mean?" She shifted on the bed, still gazing at him. He knew that the wheels in her head was working, trying to analyze the situation. "You saw one of them today, didn't you and they said something."

"They did and yet didn't," he said honestly. "Look, she came by to give me a message and you got drug into it and all they said was that there would be a punishment."

She let out a shaky breath and clutched his hand tightly. "We can get through this. They can't prove anything, right?" Then, the light in her eyes shifted. "What message did they want to give you?"

Sirius hesitated yet again and Hermione knew it wasn't going to be good. "I have a mission. They want me to go out for a year and track down rogue Death Eaters."

"Oh." It came out in a soft voice, her eyes sad.

"Hermione," he rushed to say, grabbing her other hand in his, "we're going to get through this. I promise, everything is going to be alright."

She looked down at her hands in his, almost smiling at the feeling of his skin against hers. "Sirius, there's something I need to tell you," she whispered.

"Yes?"

"When Dumbledore came in, he told me about something, something to do with the Verus Fatum I used to end up in the past."

His brows furrowed in a confused manner. "What about it?"

Her eyes lifted to his and she frowned. "I now have a choice," she stated. "I can either stay here and let everything ride out or…" She paused. "I can go back and put everything the way it was before."

Sirius jerked back slightly, eyes wide. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know yet."


	13. Tekau ma toru

**DISCLAIMER: I still don't own any of it...**

**Brief Note: So I just want to thank all of you for sticking with this story even though I went on hiatus. To answer some of the questions that you guys asked about what happened, I was in a few accidents that prevented me from updating and then I also got a job...yes, the dreaded "J" word. As to the accidents, none of them very life threatening and I have recovered relatively well, but thanks for your concern. On that note, Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it and here's your chapter...**

**Tekau ma toru**

Lauri relaxed in the arms of her husband as they entered their home later that night. Declan was spending the night under the care of Molly Weasley who had insisted on their presence as she said it 'helped her cope'. Really, the woman didn't leave her with much of a choice.

Remus wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her slightly. "Tired, love?"

She smiled up at him, leaning up slightly to kiss his chin. "Yes and no. It's been a long day and I'm sore but I can't help but worry about Hermione."

"I can't either," he said, turning her around so she was snuggled into his chest. "However, I think we just need to take one day at a time now."

Lauri tilted her head back and grinned at him. "How right you are, love, and right now, I think we need to take advantage of the fact that we're alone."

"Really now?" He gave her a wolfish grin. "And what exactly do you suggest we do since we're alone?" His arms tightened around her, pressing his hips against hers.

"Read?" she teased.

"I don't think so," he growled softly as his lips descended upon hers. Even after twenty years, he would never get tired of her taste. His tongue slipped easily between her parted lips. He moaned when she sucked lightly on it before running her tongue over his in a teasing manner.

"I love you, you know that," he groaned as he pulled back slightly, the evidence of his arousal pressing against her stomach.

"I think I can tell," she answered as she reached between them and touched his bulge. She squeezed it lightly, causing him to growl softly again. "I love you too by the way."

He reached down and lifted her up into his arms. "Then we shouldn't waste anymore time talking." He hurried to the bedroom, depositing her on the bed and taking his shirt off in no time.

She chuckled. "You in a hurry?" She laid her hands flat on his chest, making slow circles with her thumb.

"Damn right I am," he hissed as he removed her hands, choosing instead to pull her shirt over her head. He ginned at the black lacy bra she wore underneath. "I love your underclothes."

"You should, you bought them." She chuckled at the amused expression on his face and then gasped when his lips sought out her nipple through the lace. "Merlin!"

"I'm Remus darling," he cajoled with a wolfish grin. "Merlin died years and years ago."

"Shut it you," she drawled as she tugged his head up so she could latch onto his lips. "You know, I love you but you drive me so mad sometimes."

"Which is what makes us a wonderful couple," he responded as he jerked her trousers down in a smooth motion. He snuggled his face into the crook of her neck and inhaled her scent. "I can't tell you how glad I am that you came back to me."

She ran her fingers through his hair. "Me too." She managed to shift so she could see him. "You know, I wanted to come back so many times but it was only Hermione's letter to me encouraged me that I still had a chance with you."

"She managed to make us all happy," he whispered, "at her own expense."

Lauri's face saddened. "It seems like her and Sirius ended up with the short end of the stick." She pressed her lips to his forehead. "It's their time to be happy."

"How right you are." He tapped the tip of her nose with his index finger. "And we'll just have to make sure that nothing gets in their way. Right at this moment, though, I'm only worried about two people being happy and that's us."

She laughed when he attacked her knickers feverously, but her laughter stopped when his teeth and tongue replaced his hands.

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTlOvEsThEpAcKeRsEvEnThOuGhThEySuCk**

Severus Snape sat in a dark room of his small residence with a single candle providing him some light. In his hand was a small picture of a young woman with dirty blonde hair and sparkling eyes. She was smiling at something off to the side.

"I'm so sorry," he slurred drunkenly, picking up his glass of bourbon again. By now he had so many that the burning sensation didn't even bother him as the contents flowed easily down his throat.

The woman slowly turned towards him in the picture and blew a kiss, waving slightly as her eyes blinked twice and then she turned her head again. He knew what, or rather who, she was looking at for she once told him when he sat gazing at it quizzically.

The picture was taken during their last year at Hogwarts towards the middle. Hermione Granger had taken the picture during study hall one day. They were chatting about school and he had been sitting off to the side. Hermione had apparently snapped the picture when her head had been turned towards him.

It was the only picture he had of her.

"I loved you." His voice came out croaky as the empty glass cluttered to the ground. "I still love you."

"You know, sitting around drinking away your sorrows while staring longingly at a picture isn't going to help at all."

Severus slowly turned his head to look at his school mate and fellow Slytherin, Lucius Malfoy. As usual, the man was dressed superbly even though the battlefield was still stained with the blood of their comrades and enemies.

"Pour me another," he said, thrusting his empty glass towards the blond.

Lucius did one of his overly dramatic sighs but took the glass nonetheless and conjured another for himself before pouring an equal amount into both and handing one back to Severus. "Muggle alcohol, Severus?"

"Thought you got over your old prejudices," he snapped back. Then, "How is she?"

"She's awake and for right now and that's good. Apparently, from what I just happened to hear while hanging around, the Ministry is going to try to punish her someway for altering time."

"Is there a law against it?" Severus asked, teetering a little.

Lucius took a drink while he thought over his answer. "Not technically."

Severus' lips screwed up, confused. "And what is that supposed to mean exactly."

Lucius tipped his glass up slightly in a salute of some sort. "Don't worry about it just yet, I'm working on it."

Severus scoffed loudly. "Is that supposed to be comforting? You don't hold the same power within the Ministry as you did before, you know. Ever since you got caught in the Ministry, they've been watching you like a hawk. I doubt even Dumbledore's word could influence that much if he was still here."

"He's alive," Lucius replied shortly, causing Severus to choke on his drink.

"What?"

"Hermione brought him back. He told me before he died, after he talked to you about killing him, something he told her years ago. He said to help her remember and to help her through it. We used Vantem as our 'enemies' blood'."

"Nice. Who killed her?"

"Hermione actually." Lucius paused, swirling the liquor around in his glass. "Did you know that it was Vantem that put the scar on Hermione's cheek? Well, she did this time."

"Would Hermione let them heal her?"

"I didn't see her but I imagine not. She always did like reminders." Lucius paused, a frown appearing on his face as he lifted the glass up and sniffed it. "You bastard! You mixed a sobering potion in with the bourbon!"

Severus smirked. "Did you really think I would do any different? How long have you been drinking with me?"

Lucius shook his head with a chuckle. "I did wonder, you're not as snarky when you're drunk."

"Bloody bastard," Severus growled before downing the rest of his drink. Then, he raised it up and stared at it carefully. "You know, if I could just change the distinct smell of the sobering potion you wouldn't even be able to tell it was in there."

"Try to change it then."

"I think I will."

The silence stretched on for a little as Severus' onyx eyes stared at the woman in the photograph and Lucius merely stared down at the liquid in his glass, swirling it every now and then.

"Do you regret the choices we've made?"

Severus looked up, startled. The blond aristocrat wasn't staring at him but there was still a certain look in the icy eyes, regret maybe? "No."

Lucius did look up then, straight into the other man's eyes. "Why not? It's not as if we were playing a safe game. We could have died at any time."

Severus shrugged. "What kind of life were we living anyway? I killed the woman I love's parents and in turn got her killed and you were stuck with a woman who you could never love while distancing yourself from the one person who actually cared." He filled up the glass as he added, "It might have been better to have died."

Lucius polished off his glass and smirked. "Sometimes I must agree with that, but not right now. I think it's good that we've lasted this long."

"Then we made the right choice." Severus stood, lifting the photo as he went and placing it back on the mantle, leaning slightly against it as he stared at it. "You've righted your wrong and now I've got to do mine."

"It's not your fault she died, you know." Lucius stood from the chair and waved his hand, causing his glass to disappear. "The Dark Lord would have killed her anyway."

"I should have been there for her, though."

"It's too late now to change that. Besides, I think you've made up for it with killing Dumbledore and making sure that Potter was able to destroy the Dark Lord. You've got your revenge."

"No. Rodolphus still has to die for killing her."

Lucius clapped him on the back. "You'll get him, but first, we have a traitor to get."

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTlOvEsThEfAcTtHaTsHeHaSyEtToGeTaHaNgOvEr**

Sirius ran his hand through his hair, opened his mouth, promptly shut it and ran his hands through his hair once more. He had repeated this procedure no less than five times in the past three minutes, staring at the white sheets of the bed.

Finally, "What do you mean you don't know?"

Hermione unclenched her hands. She had been expecting the question though she still wasn't sure how to answer it without causing him to get angry. "It's complicated."

Good job, Hermione, she thought a second later when he sent her a very incredulous look as if to say 'don't-even-think-that-is-going-to-work-with-me' and then snorted on top of that.

She threw up her hands. "What do you want me to say, Sirius? That I'm completely sure with how my life is going to work out and what not?"

"No," he charged, just as angry as her. "I want you to say that you're happy with me and that us being together is all that matters at the moment."

"Don't you dare accuse me of not caring about whether we're together or not; I happen to care a great deal." She balled her hands up into fists. "It's just that I'm not the only one I have to consider now, Sirius. Do you realize how many lives I've changed?"

"Does it really matter? Everything has ended up alright," he argued vehemently. "You told me in the past that everyone was dead. That would have included Lily, James, Lauri, Remus, and everyone else, would it not?"

"I don't know about Lauri and some others," Hermione admitted softly.

Sirius remained quiet for a moment as he digested the information and then, "What?"

Hermione debated for a few seconds on what information she should give him but then thought, the hell with it. He wouldn't remember a single thing of it if she decided to change it back.

"Look, in the other...er…present?, Lauri wasn't with Remus so there was no Declan. She came back this time because I wrote to her. I couldn't stand to see him unhappy. Lily and James died that night for Harry instead of me so there was no Rachel either. Harry grew up an orphan with his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon. Peter made it look like you were the traitor so you were locked away in Azkaban and he was thought dead."

Sirius half smiled as he looked at her. "And this is bad, how?"

She lightly smacked him. "Don't joke about it, Sirius. This is a serious decision I have to make." She sighed, sliding down slightly on the bed. "Merlin's duck, I don't know what to do."

"You live, that's what."

"Everyone says that," she pouted. Then, she sat up straight. "You know what, I've been wondering how I've been so stupid."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I'm supposed to be a smart witch and all and yet not once did I ever connect the dots that I was the same Hermione Granger that died for Harry. I mean, I knew there was another Hermione out there who had powers but it should have been obvious that we were one in the same."

"Well," he said, blushing slightly, "we did do everything we could to prevent you from finding out before you had to. We made sure, with the help of McGonagall, that all the books mentioning you directly was checked out of the library and that no one who couldn't hold their tongue came in contact with you."

"Still…"

"Hermione, I don't think you quite understand the pains we went through to protect you. During your third year when all that with Pettigrew was going on, we literally had to beg Remus to go teach to keep an extra eye on you. We were pretty sure by that point that Voldemort had found out about you and would try to get you once again."

"But it was right there, staring me in the face," she stressed. She chuckled lightly and threaded her fingers through his. "I'm sort of glad I didn't though. I would have been way too young t accept everything and probably would have ran."

"Which would have been disastrous."

The smile on her face fell and she frowned. "You could have died," she whispered, stroking a piece of hair away from his face with her free hand.

"When?"

"My fifth year," she clarified. "You could have fallen through the veil like before and died."

"Yeah, but if you had ran you never would have known."

"Yes I would have," she argued softly. "I would have known in here." She touched her chest where her heart laid. "We're connected."

Sirius smiled happily, bending down to kiss her soundly on the lips. Hermione shifted closer to him, raising her free hand to hold his head in place. Her lips parted when his tongue pressed lightly against them, asking permission to enter. Her tongue met his in a smooth battle, swirling around, gaining the taste of each other once again.

Hermione moaned, drawing on his tongue like a traveller in a desert desperate for water. His free hand moved to cup her cheek tenderly as he pushed himself closer although making sure not to get too close to hurt her. However, accidents do happen and when she tried once more to shift closer, the wound on her upper thigh protested and she gave a soft squeal, snapping back.

"Are you alight?" he asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I just moved too much I guess." Her face scrunched up as she tried to get comfy on the bed once more. "I can't wait to get out of here."

Sirius grinned, giving her hand a light squeeze. "Neither can I."

The door opened slowly and a head stuck through, peeking in. Hermione motioned for them to come on in even though Sirius gave every indication that he wanted them to go away.

"Miss Granger, Auror Black, I was told to come inform you by Dumbledore that the bodies of Peter Pettigrew and Arty McBander were just discovered. McBander is thought to be one of You-Know-Who's spies."

"Who killed them?" Hermione asked quickly when she saw that Sirius was just going to dismiss the young man.

The man paused, clearly not expecting any questions. "Um…er…Dumbledore didn't tell me that information."

Sirius turned away impatiently while Hermione fought the urge to laugh at him. "Did you not overhear anything? Do they have any suspects?"

Again, a pause followed by a shrug. "I don't know."

"Thank you then."

"Oh, he also told me to tell you that should you be confused, you should simply remember the final words, although I'm not too sure what he meant by that."

Hermione stared at the man for a second, aware that both men in the room were staring at her at the moment. "Thank you, if that's all could you please leave us."

"Oh, right." The man hurried back out of the room, being sure to shut the door with a loud 'click' on his way out.

"What was that supposed to mean?" Sirius asked, perplexed.

Hermione smiled and touched his cheek, remembering the words Remus had told her the first time around when he had handed her the Verus Fatum. "It means that for now I'm going to stay right here with you."

"Good."

**A/N: Again, thank you and I hope you enjoyed the chapter...**


	14. Tekau ma wha

**DISCLAIMER: Still don't own it...**

**LET'S GOOOOO MOUNTAINEERS! This chapter is basically for my lovely little team: WVU. Since most of you probably don't give a flying monkey about WVU, they're currently playing (literally playing right now as I post this) for a position in the national bowl game. We're ranked number 2 and COULD move up to number 1... score is 7 to 3... LET'S GOOOO MOUNTAINEERS...**

**Yeah, I know you don't care so here's the chapter... CHEERS!!**

**Tekau Ma Wha**

Hermione Granger was released from St. Mungo's on the twenty-first day of August. By then, Sirius had already been sent out by the Ministry to capture rogue Death Eaters. He had promised her, though, that he would be back and that he would write. She doubted very much that he would write judging by his efforts in their past but knew that he would move heaven and earth to get back to her.

Minerva McGonagall had come to visit her around five times while she was in the hospital and even went school shopping for her. She loved having the older woman there since she remembered their connection in the past. She even got to call her Aunt Minerva again.

When she was released, Harry and the others threw her a little party. Only close family members were invited, though, as they didn't want to overtax her. Hermione felt a bit odd, though, being there alone. She hadn't told the others everything and, even though she knew Harry had the general gist of it, she didn't know quite how to go about telling them everything.

And so she found herself on the twenty-sixth at Hogwarts in front of McGonagall's door. She stood there for a second or two in thought before raising her hand and knocking twice.

"Hermione?" The older woman frowned a bit, not knowing why the younger woman was there. "What brings you here? I was going to come over…"

"I know," Hermione interrupted, "but I wanted to see you before we came over. I was wondering whether if you still had the small cottage in Scotland."

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do." She studied the younger woman. "Am I right in assuming that you wish to get away for a week or so?"

Hermione nibbled on her lower lip. "Do you think it's awful of me to feel that way?"

Minerva smiled and drew Hermione into her quarters. "Of course not, darling. We all understand how much you've been through. It might take a while for your friends to completely understand but they will with time. Right now, you have to look out for yourself."

"So may I stay there?"

"As a matter of fact, you can. Of course I'll need to do some shopping for food supplies before you completely settle in." A wistful look appeared on her face. "I haven't been up there in so long. Everything has just been too hectic."

"Would you like to go with me?" Hermione asked hesitantly. "I mean, if you're not busy. I figure you have a lot to do what with becoming the new Headmistress and all."

Minerva smiled. "Heard about that, have you? I expect Dumbledore told you himself." She sighed. "I don't want to impose on you, darling. I would love to come but I'll understand if you need some time by yourself."

"Funny thing, I want to be by myself without actually being by myself." Hermione grinned. "I remember the time that we spent in Scotland in my past and it was so peaceful. I want you to come, really I do."

"Then we'll head up first thing tomorrow morning. We'll tell everyone we're getting away for a while tonight and then go do some shopping. You can stay here if you like tonight so we can leave. I can have the elves fix up your old room."

"That would be lovely," Hermione replied with a smile. "I miss Falco."

"And he misses you if his minutely rants are anything to go by." Minerva walked over to a portrait and said something to the lady within and watching as she left the portrait. "He's always popping up in here and going on and on about how I should be ashamed for not telling you, but I suspect that he only wanted me to tell you so that you would drop my more often and see him."

"Too true," drawled a new voice from the picture and Hermione grinned. "It was wrong for you lot to keep her away from me. Why, I guarded her and kept her company for a long period of her life and she actually paid me a bit of attention. You lot just keep walking right on by, ignoring lonely ol' me in my frame."

Hermione laughed, remembering the number of times he had entered the one portrait in her room to keep the buxom company. "I doubt you've ever been lonely, Falco." She added a wink, causing him to blush slightly.

"Well, it still isn't the same without you around," he responded, slightly flustered.

"I missed you too."

"So, after you two return from this little holiday you are taking, am I to assume that you will return here?" he asked, cocking a brow. "More importantly, will you return to your old rooms?"

"Yes, for a period at least." She watched Minerva moving around out of the corner of her eye. "I'm still coming to terms with everything and I think the others will need time to deal with it on their own."

"You do realize that you can't put off telling them forever. It's better to do it and get it over with," he responded logically. "Do you really want to wait and only cause them to get angrier at you for holding out on you?"

She stuck her lower lip out in a pout of sorts and crossed her arms over her chest. "No," she answered slowly, her eyes downcast, "I don't think so."

"Of course you don't," he said in a dismissive manner. "That is why you shall tell them tonight when you tell them that you are going away, informing them that you know it might take them some time to get used to the idea which is why you're letting them consider it in peace without you there."

"What if they don't want to be my friend after I tell them?"

He smiled at her, his hand rising to lay flat against the portrait. "I doubt that very much."

"But you can't guarantee it?"

He chuckled lightly, shaking his head. "I thought you have learnt by now that nothing is a guarantee. You must make what you will of life and, if you don't like it, then change it. You make your own fate; you are the one in control of the weave."

She nodded slowly, thinking back to her encounter with the Fates when they allowed her to choose whether her future was to live or die right then and there. "They let me choose," she muttered softly, almost to herself but she knew Falco had heard.

"They always let you choose, most just don't realize it until it is too late. Life is our own story, Hermione. It is we that fill in the pages to our life, they just hold the inkpot."

She smiled at him, taking a step back. "Thank you," she said softly so that only he would hear. Then, louder, "I guess I'll see you when we get back."

He bowed slightly at the waist, folding one arm in front of him and the other to the back like a gentleman's bow. "I will be looking forward to it, Hermione Granger. Have fun and relax before you are forced to come back and repeat your seventh year all over again."

"Will do," she replied before going to join up with Minerva.

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTlOvEsHeRmAkEsHiFtClOtHeSlInE**

Hermione was immediately engulfed into the embrace of Molly Weasley as soon as she set foot out of the grate into the Potter's residence. She sputtered a little, having inhaled a bit of soot when she was forced to gulp for air by having hers squeezed out of her.

"Easy on her, mum," one of the twins, she thought it to be Fred but she wasn't too sure at the moment, said as he entered the room. "She's wounded, that one."

"Yeah," said the counterpart of the twin as he, too, entered the kitchen, only from the stairs, "wouldn't want to send her back to the hospital after just getting out."

Molly immediately released her, brushing the soot from her shoulders with a motherly smile brightening her face as she did so. "It's so good to have you back here, dear."

Hermione drew in a breath and looked around at all the room's occupants. "You have no idea how good it feels to be out. I've decided that my hospital record is going to be just as long, if not longer, than my Hogwarts' record."

The twins laughed good-heartedly and replied simultaneously, "But not longer than ours."

Hermione snorted. "I doubt anyone could ever beat your record. Well, the Marauders gave you a run for your money. I don't which one I would declare the winner…"

At this point, James happened to swoop into the room with Remus behind him. "Why us of course," he answered with a cocky grin. "Remember the time.." His voice stopped after receiving a not-so-subtle elbow to the side from Remus. "Oh, never mind."

"Remember what?" Fred pressed, for she had finally decided that the first one who had entered _had_ been Fred.

"Nothing," James replied, a little flustered now. His cheeks started to get a bit pink. "I mean, there's no way _any_ of you would know, except for Remus who was the _only_ one there that is present in this room at the moment and…"

"James, you're babbling," Hermione said, cocking her brow. "Maybe you should just, you know, go find your wife and tell her you're home from work."

James looked extremely grateful for the opportunity to leave. "Right, of course. I should go do that. Bye all!"

Fred and George stared after him, speculative looks in their eyes. "That was weird," George commented softly before swinging around and staring intently at Hermione. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that now, would you Hermione?"

She shrugged and took a lesson she had learnt both from the Marauders and Harry in lying. "Not at all. Did you understand it, Remus?"

He shrugged as well as he took his place beside her. "Not at all, Hermione, but then again, so few people can understand James' babbling."

"True," she agreed. The twins were still staring at her intently. "Now, if you guys will excuse me, there's a certain best friend of mine that I have to find."

And before they could say another word, she brushed past them and headed directly towards the stairs that would lead her to Harry's room. She smiled at some of the portraits that she had gotten to know as she passed, even greeting a few with pleasantries as she steadily made the climb.

She finally arrived on the third story of the large house and turned right, knocking on the fine wood frame of the first door on the left. She heard someone shuffling about and the door opened a second later.

Harry caught her up in his arms as soon as he saw her, spinning her around and around a few times before setting her on her feet. She laughed at his behaviour, squeezing him tight. "I am so happy to see you."

"I'm just happy to see you standing on your feet again," he replied, kissing her cheek in a brotherly sort of way. "So, Miss Granger, how does it feel to be out of the hospital?"

She leaned back her head and let out a groan, then smiled. "You have no idea how good it feels. I didn't think they were ever going to let me out. Everyday they wanted to run a new test."

"It was for your own good," he responded as he put a hand on her back and guided her into his Quidditch decorated room. "We didn't know exactly what happened so they wanted to make sure that the spell didn't leave any lasting damage."

"I know, I know," she huffed playfully as she collapsed on his bed. She had always envied his bed. It had to be the most comfortable thing in the world. She wondered what it was stuffed with…

Harry grinned knowingly as he flopped down beside her. "It actually has a variety of feathers inside to give it this cushy feel but hippogriff feathers is the main feather type in it." He turned his head to smile at her. "I had to beg mum to let me get it. She kept ranting about how the feathers would be everywhere."

"What finally convinced her to let you have it?"

"Dad reminded her that she was a witch and could cast a spell so that none of the feathers would come out of it." Harry chuckled to himself at the memory.

"Whenever I stay over, I just might kick you out so I can hog it."

Harry's chuckle died in his throat as he rolled over onto his side to stare at her. "What do you mean when you come to visit? Aren't you staying here till school starts?"

Hermione bit her lip and shut her eyes at the slip of tongue. She hadn't meant to tell him yet. "Um…no, I'm going to Scotland and then I'm going to stay at Hogwarts."

"Why?"

"I'll tell you tonight when we're with everyone else."

Harry picked up her hand, giving it a squeeze. "Hermione, you know you can tell me anything, right?" He smiled at her. "I'll always be your friend. Nothing will change that."

She patted his knee. "Thanks Harry, but I think it'll be for the best to tell you with everyone else so that I don't have to explain the whole sordid affair twice."

"Alright then." Harry opened his mouth to say something else, but the door burst open suddenly and Hermione ducked as a five foot one body came hurling at her. She wasn't fast enough as the body crashed into her, knocking her back onto the bed.

"Hello to you too, Rachel," Hermione said, chuckling as the younger girl hugged her tightly. "Er…would you mind letting me up?"

Rachel continued to hug her. "I thought you were going to die, Hermione. You were so white and icky looking when they first took you into the hospital and they wanted to keep running those tests on you. I was sure that something was wrong with you and they just were telling any of us."

"Rachel," Harry interrupted.

"Oh yes, sorry," she muttered as she rolled off Hermione. "I really am glad you're back."

"So am I," Declan said as he came into the room and hugged Hermione loosely so as not to hurt her. "You're looking a lot better."

Hermione chuckled. "You are your father made over, Declan Lupin. Ever so polite even in weird situations." Harry laughed in agreement as Declan blushed slightly. "So, how about we go downstairs for that chat?"

"What chat?" Rachel asked curiously.

"The one that is either going to make me or break me," Hermione muttered as she stood up and walked out of the room with the others following behind.

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTiSeXcItEdAbOuTtHeNeWbOnJoViCd**

Hermione chose the chair in front of the fire while everyone else spread out in front of her. Lily and Lauri came to sit near her, though, while Remus and James took supportive stances behind her.

"Okay, so I guess I should just tell you and get it over with, but first I just want to say that tonight I'll be leaving for Scotland and then back to Hogwarts until the start of the term. I need to get away to think for a while and I think that you guys will need time to come to terms with what I'm about to tell you."

"Hermione, you don't have to leave," Harry inserted.

She smiled at him sadly. "I think I do, Harry, but for me more than anything. I have a lot of things I need to accept." She drew in a deep breath and muttered, "Here goes…"

Hermione glanced over at Lily and Lauri, encouraged by their smiles. "Okay, so you've all heard the tale about the woman who died that night at Godric's Hollow…"

"You mean the woman Sirius was with?" Rachel interrupted.

Hermione grimaced. Okay, so this was going to be a bit harder to explain than she originally thought. "Yes. I can't think of any way to say this delicately so I'll just say it: I'm her. I'm the woman that died that night."

Rachel sat there with a confused expression, Declan was silently regarding her, while Harry didn't look a bit surprised. Finally, Rachel said, "Hermione, that's impossible."

Hermione shook her head. "With magic, nothing is impossible, Rachel. I am that woman. I was transported back in time on the ninth day of August after the war and ended up at Hogwarts where I was taken in by Dumbledore and McGonagall. I attended my seventh year with your parents and we became friends. I was involved with Sirius and I died for you, Harry."

She was waiting for some sort of explosive reaction, but none came. Rachel still looked dumbfounded like she simply couldn't comprehend any of it. Declan was still quietly staring at her, his hand propping his chin up. Harry smiled at her when she met his eyes.

He knew, she realized as soon as that slow grin started to appear on his face. She stared straight back at him through wide eyes before smiling and shaking her head disbelievingly. Of course he knew. Despite popular belief, Harry could be extremely observant when he wished to be.

"You don't have to go to Scotland, Hermione," he said, reaching out to grab her hand.

"Yes I do." She smiled at him. "I need to think on my own for a while."

"I still don't understand," Rachel pouted.

Lily chuckled softly and went over to her daughter, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I'll explain it to you better, pumpkin."

Hermione smiled at the youngest Potter for a second before looking back to her best friend. "Are you alright with everything, Harry? Really?"

Harry squeezed her hand. "Hermione, you're happy and Sirius is happy again for the first time in a long time." His grin turned to a teasing one. "Do you realize how long it's been since we've even heard him sing a Christmas tune? Too long I tell you."

"Hear hear," James cried from his place.

Hermione chuckled along with the others. "He's a rather bad singer, though, isn't he?"

James made a loud scoffing noise. "He's gotten better over the years, that's for sure."

"Yeah, I can definitely agree that the deeper voice has improved his singing," Hermione said, followed by a chuckle. She turned to Remus. "Remember the time he serenaded you?"

"Oh Merlin," Remus said with a groan.

"I want to hear," Rachel said, beaming.

"Well, Sirius wanted Remus to try out this spell that he had made to make you block out all sound. Well, past experience taught Remus not to trust any spell that Sirius made without testing it out on something else first so he said no. Sirius, as you all know, doesn't like to be told no."

Lauri paused in her story telling and gripped her husband's hand, smiling at him. "Well, Sirius started belting out this horrible song that was popular then and it was bad. We all plugged our ears and headed out of the room, but- and I swear that I'm telling you the truth- Sirius straddled Remus and held his arms down so he would have to listen."

"Did you try out the spell, dad?" Declan questioned.

"Unfortunately, yes, and I ended up in the Hospital Wing for a week while they fixed my ear drum," Remus answered with a grimace. "Sirius maintained that he was only serenading me and there was no need for me to get in such a hissy."

Hermione laughed along with the others as they continued to share stories from school days. She realized then that, despite everything, it was going to be alright. Now all she had to do was get through her seventh year- again- and wait for Sirius to get back.

**FINAL NOTE: LET'S GOOOO MOUNTAINEERS!!**


	15. Takau ma rima

**DISCLAIMER: As I have no rights on Harry Potter, I cannot claim it as my own.**

**So yeah, I think I've got this pretty much straightened out. Sorry for the delay, really, but I got stuck in a rut about where I wanted to take this and how I was going to get there so I just froze. Thanks to the three wonderful ladies who helped me get out: MoonyNZ, Curse Weaver, and RJ Lupin's Kat... You guys are great and helped me in your own special ways, though I'm not sure you even realize how. **

**Tekau Ma Rima**

Severus Snape swirled the liquid around in the glass in his hand, his dark eyes staring at a cloaked figure across the room. The figure sitting to his left straightened in his seat, clearing his throat softly as to alert Snape.

"I see," he said softly, giving Lucius a discreet little nod.

"Looks like he's trying to hide out," Lucius commented. He turned his head slightly to give Severus an amused look. "Do you think he knows we're coming for him?"

"Without a doubt." Severus took a small drink from his glass. He sat it down on the dirty table, the corner of his lip turning up in a smirk. "How worried do you think he is?"

Lucius sneered, his icy eyes never shifting from the man they were observing. "That filth? Probably wondering how fast he could bolt from the place while avoiding the hexes we throw at him."

Severus didn't say anything, instead merely choosing to nod. He held up his hand and motioned to the man behind the bar. The bartender quickly rushed around with another glass of the potent liquid in his hand.

"You shouldn't drink," Lucius said as he leaned back in his chair. "We need to keep a clear head."

Severus merely threw him a glance before downing the drink in one go. He shifted his gaze back to the man they were watching, his hand moving down towards his wand when he saw the man tense. The stiff movements were one of a man ready to try his luck and run.

Lucius noticed the movement too and straightened in his seat, his hand already on his wand. "Back or front?" The blond man was smirking from the prospect of the chase. He loved this part more than anything.

"Back." He smirked maliciously. "I always like to see the look on their faces when they realize they cannot escape."

Lucius sighed. "Very well." He rose swiftly and headed towards the door, somehow managing to make his movements slick and gracefully so as not to draw attention to himself. People moved out of his way, their eyes not daring to meet his.

Severus watched him for a second before standing as well and heading around the back of the bar. The bartender did not say anything to him as he slipped past, opting not to disturb the scowling man.

He moved back into the shadows beside the back door and merely waited. He had his wand out in his hand, his eyes trained on the door.

Three, two, one…

The door burst open and the cloaked man came stumbling through, his eyes looking behind him. His hand was extended towards the door when Severus decided to give the man the fright of his life.

"Hello Mundungus."

The man let out an undignified screech as he clasped his hands to his heart. "Severus, you gave me a fright." He wiped a hand across his forehead to remove some of the sweat that had started to bead there.

Severus stepped leisurely from the shadows, leaning against the shut door. "What are you running from, Dung?"

"Runnin'?" The sweat was starting to roll down his dirty face, leaving treks. His eyes darted back to the open door behind him that led back into the bar before looking once again at Severus. "I ain't runnin'."

Severus merely cocked an eyebrow as he moved his wand so the other man could see it clearly. He ran a finger down the long piece of wood, his eyes trained on the man. "Really?" He took another step forward, closer to the man. "You're in an awful big hurry for not running from anything."

At that moment, Lucius stepped through the door, shutting it with a loud click and making the man between them jump. "Ah Severus, I see you've found our mutual friend."

"Indeed I have." Severus didn't even try to hold back the smirk that came to his face at the frightened look on Mundungus' face at the moment. "He was going to leave without saying hello."

"Or goodbye for that matter," Lucius replied airily, his hand resting on the top of his cane. "That is bad manners, Mundungus."

"I…I…," Mundungus stuttered as he looked from first one person then to the other. His breath was coming in gasps as he tried to gain control of his heart beat.

"Nothing to say?" Severus stepped closer to him, his wand pointed directly at the dirty man's chest. "How about you tell us about why you betrayed the Order?"

"What?" the man squeaked, eyes bulging. "I…I nev…"

"Yes, you did," Lucius interrupted, removing his wand from the cane and pointing it at the man as well. "You went on bent knee to the Dark Lord and begged him to allow you into his ranks. I was there, remember?"

"I…I…"

The corner of Lucius' lip turned up in a sour sneer. "You disgust me."

Severus smiled and leaned in closer to Mundungus, his wand in his hand. "And you know what we do with things that disgust us, don't you?"

The dirty man's eyes shifted continuously from one man to the other before closing them and muttering something under his breath. He had his hands clasped together as if in prayer, but neither man was backing down.

"We get rid of them," Lucius finished as he whispered a spell.

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTlOvEsMiNtIcEcReAm**

Hermione leaned back against the headboard and closed her eyes. Everyone would be returning to school tomorrow. Her vacation from reality was officially over. She figured that most knew about the war and the details of it, but at least they didn't know about her time-travelling stint. Thank Merlin for that.

Sirius hadn't wrote. Of course she really didn't expect him to. He wasn't that good of a person to keep in touch. She did wish he'd pen a short note every once in a while, though, and let her know that he was still alive and kicking. But that wasn't fair of her. The Ministry probably had him flying loops looking for rogue Death Eaters. He probably had very little free time, in which he spent sleeping.

To be completely fair, he had left her the key to his, no, _their_ bank vault, telling her to spend whatever she needed. McGonagall, or Aunt Minerva as she was instructed to call her once again, insisted on purchasing all of her school items. She had already stacked all of the books in a neat little pile and had everything organized for tomorrow. Somehow she had convinced Aunt Minerva to allow her to stay in her old rooms during the school term, although it was understood that she would need to check in on the Gryffindor tower from time to time, although she pretty much saw herself moving back to Gryffindor pretty soon. She would probably divide her time between the to places as much as possible.

Surprisingly, she hadn't run into all that many people while she was at Hogwarts. They were all rushing about trying to get the school back to the condition it was in before the war had left its mark on the old castle. She got tired of eating her meals by herself so she started eating down in the kitchen with Dobby who was more than happy to keep her company.

Hermione heard a rumour floating around that they had filled the vacant spot for a DADA Professor, though she had yet to hear who had taken on the role. Hopefully now that Voldemort was gone, the position wouldn't be cursed any longer and the occupant of the role would stay more than a year.

Harry had written her every day it seemed, not that she was complaining. She discovered she missed his company greatly, especially now that Ron was gone. She then felt guilty over leaving him, sure that he was feeling especially lonely without her there to comfort him after losing their other best friend.

She stared at his latest letter lying on her dresser. Would it really hurt to send him an invitation to come a day early to spend with her? Or would it kill her to go to him and spend their last free night before their final year with him?

Making up her mind, she picked up one of her cloaks and packed a bag before heading out of her rooms and towards the Headmistress' office where she would find her Aunt Minerva. Since school had yet to start, the password to bring the gargoyle to life was relatively easy: open.

"Ah, Hermione, haven't seen you in a while," Minerva said as she stacked a pile of loose parchment together, then waving her wand to banish them away. "What brings you up here."

"I was wondering whether you would mind if I went to stay with Harry tonight with it being the final night before school starts." Hermione wasn't really worried about the older woman saying no, but she wanted her approval still.

"Of course dear, I was actually hoping you would. I knew you would regret it if you stayed cooped up here and didn't get a last night to spend with your friends without the prying eyes of nosy portraits."

"I resent that!" one portrait cried indignantly while another gave a might huff.

Hermione and Minerva both smiled. "Did you bring clothes to take with you? You can floo directly from here."

Hermione held up the small bag in her hand and smiled. "I figured I could just wear my school uniform. Are you sure you don't mind?"

"Of course not, Hermione dear. You should be with your friends and celebrating your last free night." Minerva rummaged around and held out a pot of floo powder. "Go on, dear, I'm sure they'll be thrilled to have you there. I'll see you tomorrow when you arrive."

Hermione gave the woman a hug before grabbing up a handful of powder and tossing it into the fireplace, saying her destination as she stepped into the green flames.

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTiScOnFuSeDaBoUtLiFe**

Harry tossed the ball up in the air while lying on his bed, catching it when it came falling back to him. He repeated the movement at least twenty more times before sighing loudly and rolling over onto his side.

He missed Hermione.

He understood when she had pleaded that she was taking this break for herself, but that still didn't erase his selfish need to have her here, his last best friend. He was half tempted to just go to Hogwarts now and see her instead of waiting till the next day.

He rolled back onto his back and sighed again. No, he couldn't drag her away. She would come when she was ready. He understood that she thought that they needed time to deal with the news she delivered. She needed the time as well to think, he understood that as well.

The door opened and, thinking it was Rachel, he waved his hand in the air to tell her that he wanted to be alone. The door shut a second later and he closed his eyes, thankful that she hadn't put up an argument for once.

The bed depressed beside him and a bushy mass fell onto his arm. His eyes snapped open as he quickly embraced the laughing form of Hermione. "I thought you were Rachel."

"I know." She kissed his cheek and then eased out of his embrace, lying back on the bed. "Surprised to see me?"

"Yes," he said, grinning, "but I was actually just contemplating going to Hogwarts and stealing you away. I've missed you."

"I've missed you too." Hermione scooted closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. "What a pair we are." She turned her head to stare up at him. "We're about to embark on the last chapter of our Hogwarts career."

He laughed. "Trust you to turn our lives into a book." He pressed a kiss onto the top of her head. "We're almost done. Excited?"

"It'll just be like any other year,' she stated easily.

"Yeah, you would have experience in that matter, wouldn't you?"

It was supposed to be teasing, but she instantly stiffened. He noticed and leaned up to look down at her. "Hey, you're okay with everything, aren't you?"

"Yeah," she answered, but her pause of hesitation was a fraction too long.

"No you're not." He sighed and hugged her close. "Hermione, it happened and everything is better because of it."

"Is it, Harry? Is it really?" Her eyes were glistening with unshed tears. "I still couldn't save Ron or Neville's parents. Was it really worth it?"

"I can't believe you'd even ask that after every good thing that has happened because of you." Harry placed his fingers under her chin and made her look up at him. "Hermione, you saved the world. Without you, Voldemort would have won. The wizarding world owes its life to you. I'm not the saviour, you are."

Hermione blushed slightly as she lowered her eyes. She shook her head slightly, but didn't say anything. She wrapped her arm tighter around his waist and hugged him.

Harry held onto her as a few tears escaped her eyes, knowing that she needed to get it all out. Everything was happening so fast, and he could only imagine how she felt. He knew it would probably be even worse on her if anyone found out about her secret at Hogwarts. She deserved to have a peaceful year after everything.

"Hermione, have you thought about asking McGonagall whether she would just allow you to take your NEWTs and be done with everything? I mean, you've already completed your seventh year so surely it would be no problem."

"No, I want to complete this year with you," Hermione said softly. "Besides, there nothing else to do if I don't go to Hogwarts."

"You always have Sirius." Harry paused. "Well, after he gets done with rounding up the rogue Death Eaters of course, but I'm sure that Mum wouldn't mind you staying here until you decide exactly what you want to do. Maybe Mum and Lauri will be able to help you find something to do if you have nothing else in mind."

He felt Hermione nod against his chest and mumble something incoherently under her breath. He rubbed her hair, making the bushy mass even messier in a teasing gesture. "What's that, can't hear you. You're going to have to speak up."

She raised her head up slightly to look down at him with sad eyes. "What if we're just too different now, Harry?"

"Hermione, not much has changed."

"Harry, it's been twenty years for him. Sure, it's just like yesterday for me, but I remember the young Sirius. I fell in love with the young Sirius. What if we're not as compatible with each other now? What then?"

"You tackle that obstacle _if_ and _when_ it comes up, but right now you push it from your mind and just try to be happy." Harry smiled at her and kissed her forehead. "Hermione, he loves you, and you love him." He groaned and laid his head back on his pillow. "Oh Merlin, I sound like one of those sappy, clichéd chic flicks that Mum and Rachel love to watch so much."

Hermione laughed and lightly hit his shoulder. "Hey, I happen to like those 'sappy, clichéd chic flicks' too. They're romantic and sweet."

"Also so farfetched from real life that it puts so many romantic ideals on the concept of love that reality simply can't match up," Harry inputted wisely.

"Still, they're cute."

Harry chuckled. "They're cute to you because you're a…" He stopped, biting his lip so he wouldn't finish that sentence with something that would cause her to get mad at him.

"A what?" She inquired. "A girl?" She smiled and pinched his cheek. "Glad you finally noticed the difference between boys and girls. I'll be honest, I was a little worried there around our fourth year."

Harry's cheeks coloured slightly at the memory. "Yeah, well I've learnt my lesson since then, believe me."

"So when do you think Declan will discover that little fact?" Hermione asked with a little gleam of mischief in her eyes.

"Whenever Rachel decides to slap him upside the head and make him aware of the fact that she's a girl," Harry answered simply with a shrug.

"I wager he'll become aware of the fact before the end of the year."

Harry smiled at her. "Care to make a wager on that?"

Hermione smiled back at him. "Just what did you have in mind?"

"Well, I think it'll take clear till graduation before he becomes aware of the fact, if not directly after," Harry informed her, propping himself up on his elbow so he could look at her.

"Hmm," Hermione murmured, doing some quick thinking, "I think that may be a bit too long. I think he'll realize it around Christmas. That is, after all, a very romantic holiday."

"Too soon, too soon."

Hermione chuckled, rolling over onto her side as well. "You're so negative about your own sex. However, Declan is not like you and Ron. He takes after Lauri and Remus. He'll figure it out long before graduation."

"I doubt it. I think Ron and I may have had a bit more of an influence than you think."

Hermione tapped a finger on her chin as she considered the possibility for a second. "Maybe in _other_ areas," she said slowly, "but not in noticing the difference between girls and boys. Besides, I don't think anyone could be as oblivious as Ron was."

"I have to agree on that point, but back to the case at hand. I say graduation, you say Christmas, so what's our wager?"

"What do you want?" Hermione asked, one brow cocked slightly.

"I would say Quidditch tickets, but I could easily get those myself."

"Cocky," Hermione chided.

"Honest," he returned. "Therefore, if I win, you must stand up at graduation and announce that I'm the smartest and most handsome in all of Hogwarts and profess how much you love me."

She stared at him. "You do know I'm never going to allow you to win now, don't you?"

"Why ever not, Hermione dearest?" he asked innocently.

She just made a little sound in her throat and commented. "I'll give you until October to change your wager for if you win if you choose to."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Well, what did you have in mind, Miss Granger?"

"What if we just bet thirty galleons. Nice, clean, and simple."

"Bu that takes away all the fun," Harry pouted. He smirked at her in a way that greatly reminded her of his father during his Hogwarts' years. "It's not a good bet unless it's interesting."

A brow rose. "Alright, young Potter, just what did you have in mind?"

He had that little grin on still which warned her that she probably wasn't going to like whatever came out next. "Well, I've always heard that skydiving was fun. If I win, you have to go skydiving with me."

"Uh huh. Well, if that's how you want to play; if I win you have to go to the International Library Conference with me," she smiled evilly, "all seven days of it."

That elicited a groan from him. "Fine."

She clasped his hand in hers and shook it. "We have a bet then."

"We have a bet."

**On a final note: To all of you who doubted that WVU could pull off a win in the Fiesta bowl, I will now proceed to gloat. WE WON! WE WON! WE WON! And yes, there was no need for you Rich Rod. **

**Love as always,**

**The obsessed WVU football fan,**

**MiZZ AmAyA**


	16. Tekau ma ono

**DISCLAIMER: Don't own Harry Potter**

**Thanks to my wonderful beta MoonyNZ. You're MARVELOUS darling.**

**Tekau ma ono**

Hermione and Harry had went downstairs after making the bet and joined the others. Since Lily had seen her floo in, she had called over the Lupins and they had a little celebration to start off the new year, Voldemort-free. Hermione enjoyed being with them and was glad that she had decided to come over instead of staying at Hogwarts.

Harry, Rachel, Declan, and herself had all gathered in Harry's room to spend the night. They hadn't got to sleep until around three in the morning and that was only because Lauri had come in and convinced them that they needed to get a little sleep if they expected to get through the feast without falling to sleep in their potatoes.

They arrived at the train station in enough time to get their own compartment. They were joined a little later by Luna Lovegood. Hermione stretched herself out on top of Harry and Declan, her legs splayed over Declan while her head rested in Harry's lap. Rachel and Luna shared the seat across from them.

Hermione had decided to rest her eyes when she heard the compartment door open and felt Harry tense. She opened her eyes and stared in bafflement as none other than Pansy Parkinson entered their compartment.

Hermione could see the hesitation playing out on the other girl's face. She patted Harry's leg as she sat up slowly, knowing that he was reaching for his wand. She saw Declan shake his head at Rachel who had opened her mouth to say something to the Slytherin.

Pansy scrunched up her lips at her inner battle and wrung her hands. "I just wanted to come and say," she paused and closed her eyes, as if she couldn't believe what she was about to say, "that I- I'm sorry."

Hermione saw Rachel open her mouth again across the compartment and shook her head to stop her. "Thanks, Pansy," Hermione said, nudging Harry when she gave her a sharp look, "and we're sorry as well, for everything that's happened."

Hermione turned and narrowed her eyes at Harry while Declan agreed with her. Harry immediately sighed, rolling his eyes, and said, "Yeah, I'm sorry as well."

Pansy nodded her head and stepped out of the compartment, shutting the door behind her. As soon as she was out of sight, everyone released the breath they had been holding and looked at each other.

"That was weird," Declan commented softly.

Hermione shrugged. "Not really if you think about it. Her parents were Death Eaters so she probably grew up not knowing that she had a choice. Then, she was practically engaged to Draco Malfoy who was completely evil so that probably didn't help matters. Now that she is alone without Draco or her parents, she's probably seeing that life isn't just black and white."

Harry levelled her with a stare. "Hermione, you think too much."

While everyone else laughed, Hermione merely grinned at her best friend. "You say that all the time and yet the fact never changes. I thought you'd figure it out by now."

Harry chuckled and swung his arm around her shoulders, pulling her down so she leaned against him. Declan smiled at them and stood to remove something from his trunk overhead. When he set down, he sat down between Rachel and Luna. Hermione gave Harry a smug look and stuck her tongue out just for good measure. Rachel raised a brow at their antics, but they didn't explain it to them.

Rachel, Declan, and Luna all engrossed themselves in books while Hermione merely rested against Harry. After a little time, Hermione stood up and smoothed out her shirt. "I think I'm going to go find the food trolley and get a bit of chocolate."

Declan looked up with an eager face. "Will you bring me back some?" He had inherited his father's love of chocolate, that was for sure.

"Yeah, sure. Anyone else?"

Harry stood up as well. "I'll go with you." He smiled down at her when she went to protest and said, "My treat."

"We'll see if you'll be saying that when you see just how hungry I am," she said as she took the others' orders and walked out of the compartment, leaving him to follow.

He stayed directly behind her as they walked down the train, manoeuvring through the students that were standing outside the compartments, conversing with their friends. Though many were gone due to the war, there were still many that had chosen to come back to Hogwarts. There were quite a lot of first years and transfers with the old crowd.

"I smell chocolate," Harry said from behind her, grinning from ear to ear. "I'll tell you, that's one thing I've missed over the past few months. Ah, Honeydukes."

Hermione chuckled. "We'll have to swing by there on our first Hogsmeade trip and get some. I've been craving some of their double chocolate fudge with peanut butter."

"Sounds delicious. We're getting at least two pounds of it along with some white chocolate and some of those fluffy truffles."

Hermione groaned with delight. "Truffles. Oh how I miss those glorious creations." She gave him a saucy grin as they continued walking. "The muggles just haven't perfected the art of making the perfect truffles. Lindt truffles came close, but they're still not as good as Honeyduke truffles."

"True, very true." As Hermione gathered all the food, stuffing some of the chocolate into Harry's pockets, he paid the woman for all the food and got a pack of Bertie Bott's while he was at it. He shook the pack at her. "Just like old times."

"I swear to Merlin, Harry Potter, that if you give me earwax, I'm going to box your ears," she threatened, wagging her finger at him. She paused. "Same goes for vomit."

"Come on, Hermione, trying them is the best part of the whole thing." He opened the box and extracted one, popping it into his mouth quickly. "Lovely, soap."

Hermione only laughed as she walked off from him, hearing him chuckling behind her.

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTlOvEsHeRnEwPaYcHeCk**

The feast, surprisingly was not that long. Actually, it was the speech before the feast that did not take as long. Minerva McGonagall was never one to mince words and always got straight to the point, which is why it went so quickly.

Hermione adjourned to her old rooms shortly after leaving the Gryffindors in their tower. She went back to her rooms and, after conversing with Falco, took a nice warm bath to help her relax. She wondered who was going to teach DADA; she noticed that Snape had came back to teach Potions and that there was an empty seat beside him for the new Professor.

The next morning, she woke up just in enough time to get dressed and go down for a quick breakfast before having to go to class. She figured that they would have Charms or Transfiguration first. She was halfway through buttering her toast when she realized that the Transfiguration post would be open as well.

"What?" Harry asked, noticing her stillness.

She shook her head slightly and looked at him. "Last night I was wondering who was going to be the new DADA Professor, but it just now occurred to me that there's going to have to be someone to teach Transfiguration as well."

Harry grinned. "Well, I can tell you who's going to be teaching Defence, though you would have known had you been around. Remus is going to take it over. Dumbledore and McGonagall both cornered him and begged him to take it over."

"So who's Transfiguration?"

Harry shrugged. "No clue."

She then turned to Declan who merely shook his head to tell her that he didn't know either. Hermione glanced back up at the staff table, seeing now that there were, in fact, two empty seats, one which belonged to Remus whenever he came.

"So where is your dad?" Hermione inquired, turning back to Declan.

"Him and Mum are moving some of their stuff here so that they can stay. McGonagall had it set up where she can just use the floo system from here to go to work. Their room will have a direct connection to her job," he answered.

Hermione nodded and had just took a bite of her toast when McGonagall appeared behind them, holding their schedules. She passed them out while saying, "Normally your new Head of House would be doing this, but, as I understand it, Professor Lupin and his wife are having a little trouble moving in at the moment." She sent Declan an amused look and then moved on.

Hermione glanced down at the schedule. They had Charms first and then Defence before having Herbology then Astronomy. Tomorrow she would start off the day with Ancient Runes before meeting back up with Harry for Transfiguration, Care of Magical Creatures, and Potions.

"Think we should go check on your parents before class?" she asked Declan

He wiped off his mouth with a napkin and stood from the bench, grabbing up his bag. "Sure, might as well go and see how bad the place looks."

Hermione chuckled. "I'm sure it can't be that bad. Your parents are really organized and…"

Declan leaned across the table, looking at her pointedly. "Hermione, when you were with them, well, before, do you remember when they first moved in together?"

Hermione sat there for a moment, trying to recall the memory, and then, "Oh."

Declan chuckled softly. "Yeah, oh. Somehow they can be the two most organized people and yet they cannot manage the simple task of moving and organizing a new space."

Hermione gave his cheek a soft pat and stood as well. "Well, we might as well go offer our services before we have to go to class." She looked down at Harry.

He looked up at her innocently, his mouth full of eggs. "But…but…"

"Harry," she said, brow raised.

He gave her the puppy eyes, his hand reaching towards his plate. "Please," he said pitifully.

"I promise you can have an extra big lunch," she said, lifting up his bag, "but for now, come with us." When he still stared up at her, she sighed. "Now, Harry, or you'll be doing your first assignment completely by yourself, without one ounce of help from me."

He stood immediately, throwing his napkin down on the table before grabbing her arm and propelling her out of the Great Hall. Behind them, Hermione heard Rachel chuckling.

They found the quarters marked off for Remus and Lauri in a complete and total mess. Boxes were open with stuff strewn about the room while Remus and Lauri argued about where to put what. It was quite comical, actually, as Remus had a pair of hose across his shoulder from where Lauri had thrown them at him, and she with her hair halfway falling out of the ponytail from pulling at it so much in aggravation.

"I just don't see why it makes much difference whether the table is there or three inches to the right!" Remus was saying, gesturing at the table in question.

"Of course you wouldn't see why it makes such a decorating difference," Lauri charged back, hands on her hips, "because you're a man!"

Remus grinned wolfishly. "Glad you noticed that, love."

Declan's face when blood red with the direction this topic was taking and Hermione decided to take a little pity on the boy. Clearing her throat, loudly, she stepped further into the room, grinning as the two guiltily noticed they had visitors.

"We just came by to offer you our help before we had to go to class," Hermione said, extracting her wand from her robe pocket.

"Thanks, Hermione, but really you guys don't have time before your first class starts," Remus said, shifting through some papers with a frown. "I know I put my timesheet down here somewhere," he muttered to himself, causing them to snigger.

Hermione waved her wand around, whispering a few spells, and they all watched as the stuff flew out of the boxes and began sorting itself into proper places. The table scooted to a halfway point where they had wanted it and a vase of flowers flew to sit atop it.

After a few minutes, everything was put out and the boxes were whisked away. Hermione smirked at Remus as a paper flew into her hand. "I believe this is what you are looking for, Professor," she said with a sassy smirk.

Remus' eyes narrowed as he snatched the paper from her hand. "Sometimes you're too smart for your own good, Hermione Granger." He looked around at the room. "I seem to remember a similar time when Lauri and I first got married."

Hermione grinned cheekily. "Yeah, me too. The same spells worked then and yet you still haven't learned them." She shook her head sadly. "I expected so much more from you Professor. You are supposed to be our DADA Professor after all."

"Watch it, Granger, or I just might remove some points from Gryffindor," he warned teasingly.

Harry laughed and slung an arm around Hermione, pulling her back towards the door. "To do that, you'll have to give us some first. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have a class to get to. See you later," he paused with a grin, "_Professor_."

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTlOvEsPaNsLaByRiNtH**

Hermione thought that maybe if she arrived to Transfiguration a few minutes early that maybe she would be able to get a glimpse of the new Professor before class started. Yesterday's classes for the younger students had been cancelled, the reason being that the Professor was not ready to start yet.

However, whenever she reached the room, it was to discover the Headmistress standing at the front of the room, behind the desk. She was shuffling around some papers, reading over them with a stern expression.

"Don't tell me you're going to keep up as the Transfiguration Professor," Hermione said as she took her seat in the front row with a large smile.

"No, I'm not actually," McGonagall said as she sat the papers down, "I'm only filling in for the new Professor until he can come and take over his duties."

"Who is the new Professor?" Hermione inquired, taking out her Transfiguration book, some parchment, and her favourite quill.

"That, Hermione, is a surprise. He should be back in time to teach your next class, or at least that was what I was told when I owled him." The older woman sighed. "Apparently, he has a number of obligations that he has to take care of before he could possibly even contemplate coming to Hogwarts."

Hermione stifled her laugh. "So are you teaching all the classes tomorrow?"

"No, Albus has graciously agreed to come tomorrow to take over the classes until the Professor could show up. Unfortunately he couldn't make it today which is why I'm here."

Hermione grinned. "You know we're going to miss you teaching this class."

McGonagall smiled. "Maybe you will, but I doubt many others will share your opinion." The smile fell off her face as soon as the other students filed into the classroom and she was immediately businesslike, telling the students to open their books to chapter three.

Harry took the seat beside Hermione and attempted to distracted her at various points during the class. As they were sitting up front, though, he got caught twice, though luckily only receiving stern looks both times. He merely gave Hermione a small grin before attempting to distract her once again.

By the time class was dismissed, Hermione was glaring at Harry and thinking up all the hexes she could throw at him without it coming back on her in some way. Harry, meanwhile, kept poking her just to drive her crazy.

When they were nearing the Great Hall to go outside for class, Hermione finally slapped his hand away and growled, "I swear, Harry James Potter, that you will regret it severely if your finger finds its way in my direction one more time."

He grinned. "Going to poke me back, Hermione?"

Her gaze narrowed on him as she leaned in closer. "Let's just say that my severing charms are amazing."

He visibly gulped and held up in hands in defeat. She smiled in victory. "It's amazing, Mr. Potter, you can take on the Dark Lord and yet you give up so easily."

Harry straightened his bag up on his shoulder and held the door open for her. "You're a perfectionist, Miss Granger," he replied easily with a grin, "I know you'd hit your mark."

Hagrid was waiting for them outside his hut, a large grin on his face as he gathered the class around to do an introduction to what they were going to learn in their seventh year. Hermione cast her gaze out towards the pumpkin patch when she heard something, and smiled when she saw Buckbeak nestled between two huge pumpkins, a dead ferret hanging from his beak.

Unfortunately they didn't have time after class to talk to Hagrid, though they did tell him before they had to run off that they would come over one afternoon for tea. The Potions classroom was almost full when they arrived and they took seats towards the centre of the classroom, much to both of their displeasure. While Harry wished for one of the back seats, Hermione really wanted one of the front seats.

Snape stood in front of the classroom, arms folded, and a formidable scowl on his face. His dark eyes ran over the students, pausing only slightly here and there. Hermione held his gaze for a moment until he turned to give Harry a look of absolute loathing, which was returned in full.

He waved his arm and instructions appeared on the board to make one of the Potions that Hermione knew was far and above a NEWT level potion. It called for many muggle ingredients such as the fresh juice squeeze from blackberries and two petals off a orange snapdragon. Snape had all the weird ingredients in stock, though he warned them in his steely voice that they had better not waste his supplies through carelessness.

Hermione finished the potion first and sat back while Harry attempted to finish his with little or no mistakes. He kept shooting Hermione pleading looks though, and sometimes she took pity on him by whispering instructions out of the corner of her mouth to him. She made a little game out of it, really. She was testing how much she could get away with before he would catch her. It was quite amusing.

Snape dismissed them, declaring that he couldn't believe McGonagall expected him to teach the group of 'blubbering idiots' again. Hermione had to smile at his sour disposition as she left the room. Knowing now of his past, she knew he hadn't really changed at all which was quite amusing.

As she was leaving, she urged Harry to take Rachel out to the Quidditch pitch for a little while before dinner. He protested at first, until she assured him that she was going to be alright in the library, unless he wanted to join her of course. She only saw the back of his robes as he flew down the hall to get Rachel.

Hermione stepped into the library and smiled. If here was one thing that remained constant in her life, it was the library. She walked back to her table and sat down, merely enjoying the smell of the ancient tomes.

"Always the same, Miss Granger."

Hermione jerked around at the sound of the new voice, her mouth falling open in shock. "You!" she sputtered. "What are you doing here?"

He smirked at him. "Why, Miss Granger, I'm the new Transfiguration Professor." His eyes lit up with amusement at her bemused expression. "Surprised?"


	17. Tekau ma whitu

**DISCLAIMER: I, unfortunately, do not receive any royalties from Harry Potter which means that I, sadly, do not own it**

**Thanks to my beta, MoonyNZ**

**Tekau ma whitu**

"_Always the same, Miss Granger."_

_Hermione jerked around at the sound of the new voice, her mouth falling open in shock. "You!" she sputtered. "What are you doing here?"_

_He smirked at him. "Why, Miss Granger, I'm the new Transfiguration Professor." His eyes lit up with amusement at her bemused expression. "Surprised?" _

Hermione studied him for a second before smiling slightly. "Not really," she answered after a moment, "you were quite adequate at the subject twenty years ago."

Lucius Malfoy smirked the traditional Malfoy smirk, staring down his nose at her. "Miss Granger, I am you Professor. Do you think it wise to be smart with me?"

She shook her head and rolled her eyes, waving her hand dismissively. "You haven't even taught a single class yet, _Professor_, so don't jump the gun."

"Jump the gun?" he repeated with a sneer at her use of a muggle phrase. He pulled out the chair across from her and sat down. He picked up some of the books she had splayed across the table, snorting with disapproval at some of them.

"You don't have to read them, _Professor_, but I like them. If you're just going to criticise my choice of reading material, then maybe I should remind you that you have better things to be doing, such as planning for your classes."

He leaned back in his chair casually, surveying her through his icy eyes. She met his gaze head on, refusing to waver now. Twenty years or so may have passed since they were friends, but to Hermione it was just yesterday, and she wasn't afraid of him. She knew the man beneath the hard exterior that had formed over the years of the war.

"My lesson plans are prepared," he said casually, his eyes flicking back down to the books, "and I don't believe I criticised your books."

"Not with words maybe," she commented softly, opening up one of the books. She glanced down at the words on the page and fought back a grimace. The books she had absentmindedly grabbed were elementary magic books.

As if reading her mind, Lucius smirked and inquired, "Brushing up, Miss Granger?"

She slammed the book shut and stared up at him. "You know, there are a lot of other tables spread throughout the library."

He leaned forward, crossing his arms arrogantly on the table. "Ah, but then I wouldn't have the esteem pleasure of enjoying your _pleasant_ company."

She gave him a thin-lipped smile in perfect imitation of McGonagall and stood. "Well, I, for one, do not share your qualms and would be quite happy without company, yours or anyone else's, so if you'll just excuse me…"

As she went to walk by him, his hand shot out with those quick reflexes she remembered quite well and stopped her in her tracks. His grip proved tight when she tried to pull away from him, only to end up being jerked closer to him than before.

"No, I will not excuse you," he said, staring straight ahead instead of at her. "Now sit."

She tested his grip once more before sitting back down with a huff. He gave her a satisfied nod as he leaned back in his chair. She fought the urge to stand back up and sprint away before he could stop her, knowing that such a hasty departure would only come back on her at some point in the not too distant future.

He stared steadily at her as if making some sort of critical assessment. Finally, he seemed to come to some sort of conclusion as he folded his arms across his chest and smirked.

"I take it you remember everything," he said.

"Yes."

"I wonder," he said softly as he reached out and brushed her cheek with the back of his hand, pushing her hair out of her face.

She jerked back sharply, her eyes looking around anxiously. "_Professor_," she said, stressing his new title, "we are not the same age anymore and that is not appropriate."

He chuckled softly. "And yet I doubt you would be objecting if it was Mr. Black doing the touching, would you?"

"He is not my Professor," she replied evenly, levelling him with a look.

He grinned at her as his hand strayed towards her. "I am not your Professor just yet."

She leaned back out of his range and folded her hands in her lap. "Mr. Malfoy, I remember _everything_ including the fact that you and I may have been close at one time, but that friendship quickly faded when you joined Voldemort."

"We were always friends, Hermione, even after I joined Voldemort," he returned easily. He leaned forward, his eyes quickly glancing to both sides to make sure that no one was listening in to their conversation. "I risked my life on numerous occasions for you and to pass on information to you when I could have easily let you die."

Hermione stared at him for a moment before rising from her seat, for once not bothering to gather up the books to return to the shelves. "Mr. Malfoy," she paused and then, "Lucius, I was able to take care of myself then and I'm certainly able to take care of myself now." She slung her bag up on her shoulder and gave him a parting glance. "I'll see you in class, Professor."

As she walked away from him, she knew that she wasn't mad at him or about him being there. In fact, she was actually quite glad that he had decided to come teach at Hogwarts. She was more angry at herself for not being able to forget the past as easily at him. Of course, he had twenty years to think it through while to her it was just like last week.

She also couldn't forgive herself for killing his only son and heir, no matter if he could forgive her or not.

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTlOaThEsWoRkInGaTwAlMaRt**

It was the twelfth of September when the peace that had settled comfortably over Hermione was shattered. Not extremely, of course, but enough so that she finally realized that her life was not going to ever be as it was before.

She had just came out of a very difficult Potions lesson in which Snape had made them brew a particularly hard and nasty potion that took constant vigilance and stirring to get it just right. While she had done it with minimal strain, having brewed it before, more than one student in the class was finding it quite difficult to complete. Harry, along with many others- including the Slytherins- had few nice things to say about the Potions Master.

Hermione listened patiently as Harry groaned that there was no possible hope of him passing Potions this year with 'the greasy bat' teaching them once more and that he probably wouldn't be able to enter the Auror program. Hermione merely smiled at that. She doubted very much that they would deny him after he had saved the wizarding world.

It was their last class of the day, for which she was somewhat grateful as she could get her homework done with before the weekend, and she was headed to grab something to eat. She paused in the middle of one of Harry's rants and tested the weight of the bag on her shoulder, frowning in thought.

Harry noticed that she had stopped and turned to look questionably at her. "What's wrong?" he asked, brow furrowed in confusion.

"A book's missing. I must have left my Potions book in the classroom," she said as she half turned to stare back down the dungeon steps.

"How can you tell it is your Potions book that is missing?"

Hermione half smiled at him as he started down the steps. "Harry, after seven years of lugging books around, I know the weight by now. I'll meet you in the Great Hall for supper."

She heard Harry call something after her, but she was so far down that she didn't catch what he said. She wasted no time getting to the door and, assuming that Snape had already vacated the classroom, she opened the heavy door without bothering to knock.

Snape whirled around at her intrusion, wand drawn, and almost sent a hex her way before seeing that it was her. She didn't move an inch until he slowly lowered his wand.

"What," he hissed, "are you doing here, Miss Granger?"

"I believe I left my Potions book in here, Professor," she stated even as she moved to pick up her book which was, sure enough, sitting on the edge of her table.

Snape snatched it up before she could, though, and held the book away from her. "So you are the forgetful one. You are setting a very bad example, Miss Granger, as Head Girl. Twenty points from Gryffindor for your carelessness."

She bit back the retort she had ready and instead merely held her hand out to take the book. He didn't relinquish his hold, however, and casually flicked open her book to one of the pages marked heavily from her notes about ways to improve the potion.

"What's this, Miss Granger?"

"My notes, sir."

The corner of his lip turned up in a sneer. "I believe that's what parchment is used for, not books, Miss Granger."

"Yes, but it's sort of hard to remember to dig out the notes whenever you need to do the potion in one class period," she retorted evenly. "Besides, I seem to recall that I'm not the only one with a penchant for marking notes in textbooks."

He stared down his hook nose at her for a moment before shutting the book with a snap. "Follow me, Miss Granger," he said in a low voice, much more menacing than a yell or at least Hermione thought so.

He lead her outside of the classroom ad down the hall only a small way before stopping in front of a portrait of one of the founding fathers of the Potions study. He leaned in close and whispered the password so that she would not hear, causing her to smile mentally.

She followed him into what was clearly his office. He had a dark mahogany desk and shelves of books lining the walls. Like Dumbledore, he had many strange objects spread throughout his office, yet she sensed that it would not be safe to touch any of these.

She walked over to one of the objects, a large porcelain bowl with ink drawings around the rim. It appeared to be empty at first glance, but at a second look, Hermione noticed a slimy material lining the inner portion of the bowl. She reached forward a hand unconsciously to touch it.

Snape slapped her hand hard with his wand and glared down at her. "That bowl is worth more than you, Miss Granger, and it will take your life if you foolishly touch it." He turned away from her and walked over to his desk. "Now, if you're through snooping, perhaps you would care to take a seat."

Hermione glanced back into the bowl curiously before taking the only other seat in the room. She glanced up and saw something tucked under some fabric on the top shelf. An edge of something silver poked out from the dark blue material. From the fact that there was not one piece of dust on the fabric whereas there was a ton on the shelf, Hermione knew it was taken down often, which made her even more curious.

"Miss Granger," Snape bit out harshly, capturing her attention when he saw what she was staring at, "pay attention."

She glanced down at him and then back up to the thing on the shelf. Deciding to hazard a guess- Harry knew she was down here so he couldn't kill her- she sat forward a little in her seat. "Who's the picture of, Professor?"

She noted with satisfaction that his face paled a shade- if that was even possible- and his eyes darted quickly upward. "No one," he answered with a sense of finality in his tone.

Hermione stared at him for a moment and remembered for a brief second the young Severus. The young Severus admittedly intimidated her slightly, but he didn't scare her. Professor Snape intimidated her, but he didn't scare her all that much either.

"Stephanie?" she asked softly.

He looked up sharply and glared at her. She stared steadily back at him, refusing to allow him to see how much he intimidated her. She knew it was of Stephanie, though she knew that Snape would loathe to admit it to anyone, least of all her.

"Miss Granger, I ask that you stop prying into my personal stuff."

Despite the little nagging voice that was telling her to put a cork in it and leave it be, Hermione opened her mouth and asked, "Is she the reason you switched sides?"

"Miss Granger," he growled warningly.

"Professor," she returned, raising a brow. She was not going to back down. The worst he could do to her, after all, was issue her a number of detentions. Then she remembered that it was only the beginning of the year and she still had a year of him as her Professor. Still…

Snape huffed loudly and stood from his chair, walking over to a small alcove where she heard glass clinking. She leaned a little to her right to see what he was doing, but her current line of vision failed her. He turned back towards her with a glass of dark amber liquid in his hand, which she assumed to be Firewhisky.

"Miss Granger," he started, and then merely shook his head and took a drink from his cup. He drained the whole cup and filled it up once more. Finally, "Yes."

She stared at him. "Sir?"

He made an impatient sound and slammed his cup down onto his desk. "Yes, Miss Granger, yes!" He took a breath and sat down in his chair once more. "She is the reason."

"How did she die?" Hermione heard herself asking suddenly. She nipped her lower lip between her teeth as his face hardened, afraid that maybe she had stepped too far.

His black eyes observed her sullenly as he slowly picked back up his cup and took a drink. "Miss Granger." He paused after that and shook his head. "Hermione," he restarted, leaning forward slightly, "very few get a glimpse into my private life."

"Dumbledore, I assume, representing the few," Hermione interrupted, not breaking her gaze once. "That was why he trusted you so much, right?"

"Correct." He glanced up at where the picture was covered by the cloth. He got this far away look in his eyes as he stared upward at it. He sighed as he looked back at her. "The information I am about to tell you, Hermione, is private and I trust it will not leave this room."

"You have my word, sir," she promised at once.

He hesitated for a second as he stared at her. "I have only loved two women during my entire life. One I merely discovered later to be an adolescent crush. She was the first witch I had come across on my own and I felt empowered by the fact that she relied on me to tell her so much about the wizarding world."

"It only took me a short while to notice that she was the only witch in her family, a muggle family. She was one of my only friends before Hogwarts and remained so for a great number of years during our time there. Her name was Lily," he paused, "Lily Evans."

She wanted to interrupt him, as she was sure he knew, but kept her lips firmly shut. She allowed herself to study him as he entrusted his secrets to her. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity, as she knew, for she figured he would never do this without the aid of alcohol.

"We had our troubles, of course, especially after James Potter decided to pursue her in earnest. We rarely placed ourselves into situations where we would get caught in each other's company because the consequences of being found out were simply not worth it. I grew to resent the distance, but after a while I discovered that I resented the fact that my feelings for her were decreasing. Even more so, when I discovered how her feelings were growing for Potter."

He took another long drag from his glass, draining it of all its liquid. "I woke up on morning at the end of my fifth year and realized I didn't love her, the same day that I was tortured outside by Potter and Black." He stopped then and looked at her, maybe as if expecting her to say something in their defence, but she remained silent.

"About that time, I noticed that Stephanie Rezzet's attention was being directed at me. I certainly did not seek to place myself in a good light for her, and nor did I encourage her crush. I merely figured that after a while her feelings for me would become nonexistent after a short time of being studiously ignored by me. Neither worked."

He waved his hand and his empty glass flew back to where he had got it from. "You know what transgressed during my, _our_, seventh year. Afterwards, well, we lost touch really when she went to France and I joined the Dark Lord."

"She came back and it was really in that instant that I realized that I loved her. Not a mere crush, I was in love with her. I tried to protect her from the Dark Lord. Her parents were murdered and I was, unfortunately, with the Death Eaters when that happened." He stopped, his eyes glazing over once more. "I lost her that night in more ways than one. When they found her body with the Death Mark floating over her, I went to Dumbledore immediately. I only regret that I realized my mistakes too late."

Hermione continued to watch him as he sat there in thought, but didn't dare to say anything. Finally, he cleared his throat and stood, straightening his robes as he did so. "That is all, Miss Granger. I suggest you go meet Potter before he starts to worry about you."

She stood and walked over to the door, only to stop when she heard him say her name. "Yes, sir?"

"If you tell anyone what I have told you, I will personally ensure that Black and Potter suffer for it."

She smiled at him and nodded. She walked up the stairs slowly as she thought about all that he had told her. She walked into the Great Hall, the noise washing over her, and sat down beside Harry. He automatically handed her a plate full of her favourite food and smiled, only to frown as he noticed her expression.

"What's wrong? He didn't do anything to you, did he?"

"No," she responded absentmindedly, and then she smiled. "He did nothing wrong, Harry, nothing at all." She took a bite of the potatoes and muttered once again, "Nothing at all."


	18. Tekau ma waru

**DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately I do not own Harry Potter, despite what the voices in my head are telling me.**

**Thanks to my beta, MoonyNZ. You're wonderful!!!**

**Tekau ma waru**

_September 30__th_

Hermione set on the windowsill up in the owlery and watched the sun set behind the hills. The giant squid was lying out on the ground, trying to catch the last rays before the sun completely disappeared.

She reached out and stroked Pig's wing that was stuck out towards her in an inviting manner. Mrs. Weasley had gifted Pig to Hermione and ever since Hermione had found it hard to detach Pig from her side whenever she entered the owlery.

"Still no word," she whispered softly, stroking his wing. She sighed as she leaned her head back against the stone wall. If she was honest to herself, she was quite worried about Sirius. Though she knew that he didn't have much time to write, she still hadn't heard from him in quite a while.

As Pig flew up to perch on her shoulder, Hermione drew her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms tightly around them. She refused to allow herself to cry though unless she had reason to. She wanted to believe that Sirius was okay, she had to believe.

"He's okay," she assured herself, "he just hasn't had time to write me." She turned her head to look at Pig. "Right?" Pig only gave a soft hoot.

She turned her head to look back out at the sky. It was beginning to grow dark now. Pig scooted closer to her head and nudged her softly, hooting in her ear.

Few people came up to the owlery at this time in the evening, so it came as a surprise when she heard someone practically running up the stairs. She turned her head inquisitively to the door and found herself more surprised when Harry whipped around the doorway to smile at her.

"Hey you," she whispered just loud enough for him to hear her as she scooted over just a little on the window sill. "What brings you up here?"

He settled down on the open space beside her and pulled her into his body, hugging her tightly. "Just wanted to spend time with my best friend as she seems to be avoiding me quite a lot lately."

She grimaced as she laid her head against his chest. "Sorry, just been thinking a lot lately." She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I guess I have been neglecting you, haven't I?"

Harry chuckled softly as he mussed up her already bushy hair. "It's alright, really. I understand that you're really worried about Sirius." He glanced out the window and then down at her, pushing her chin up gently with his finger so she was looking right back at him. "Still no word from him, eh?"

"Absolutely none," she answered with just a hint of bitterness in her voice. "I mean, I know he doesn't write anyone, not really, but I had hoped that he could at least send a short note to tell me that he's alright."

"I can understand that," Harry said with a nod, "but he's probably just trying to do his best right now to finish up quickly and come back to you."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," she pouted softly, snuggling closer to him, "but I still can't help worrying about him."

"I know. Honestly, I'm quite worried about him myself," he paused, "but at the moment I'm more worried about you."

She raised up enough to look at him. "Me? Why are you worried about me?"

"Hermione, you don't properly eat anymore, you're always going off on your own, you hardly talk anymore, and you just don't look happy anymore. I want to help you, Hermione, but I'm afraid I can't if you won't let me."

"There's no help to be found for me, Harry," she said with a sad smile. "I thought this year would be easy since Voldemort is gone and everything, but I just don't know anymore. I can't help but wonder whether I truly did the right thing."

Harry squeezed her tightly. "How can you even wonder that, Hermione? Just take a look around you. People are happy for the first time in a long time. I have parents and a sister, not to mention Remus is happy with Lauri and their son who would never have been if it wasn't for you. Let's not forget you either. You have Sirius and he has you. Everything is as it should be."

"You only know this world though, Harry, and not the one I existed in before."

"From what you've told me before, I'm glad I don't know that world. It sounds right depressing." Harry pressed a kiss to her temple. "Hermione, we can continue to debate this issue throughout the rest of the year or you can finally accept that you did the right thing. Personally, I think you should just be happy."

Hermione remained silent as she thought over his words. Her gaze shifted back out at the school grounds. The sky was now completely dark, though she could make out a lot of the features from the moon's light.

"I'll try, Harry, that's all I can promise right now." She leaned forward and out of his embrace. "Why don't you go on to the Gryffindor common room and get some sleep. I can promise you that I will meet you for breakfast in the morning _and_ I'll eat a complete and healthy breakfast." She smiled. "Go on."

He looked reluctant to leave her there all by herself, but finally he stood. "I expect to see you down there by six," he told her as he patted her head.

She nodded. "Six it is."

She kept the smile on her face until he disappeared from view, then she let it drop. She sunk back against the stone wall and let out a ragged sigh. She didn't know what to do with herself anymore. She was so confused about everything and she couldn't find the answers to hardly any of the questions that were plaguing her.

"I'm sure Potter wouldn't be happy to see that frown on your face right now, especially after you promised him you would stop worrying."

Hermione didn't turn her gaze from outside as she smiled. "You know, it's really not polite to eavesdrop on other people's conversations."

Lucius took the seat beside her that Harry had vacated. He pulled his cloak, a slightly less expensive one, tighter around him as he cast a disgruntled look at the filth around him. "Why, may I ask, do you choose to contemplate life up here?"

"Because it tends to keep people away," she answered with a teasing grin. "What's wrong, Professor? Afraid to get a little dirt on you?"

"It's not dirt that I'm worried about." He folded his hands on top of his cane and looked over at her. "Owls are filthy creatures."

"I think they're quite sweet actually."

Hermione turned her head to observe him. Even after twenty years, he was as devastatingly handsome as ever. Only the hard lines on his face displayed his true age. He had been through a lot over the years, but in the end he had made it. He had chosen his path, and she was all the more proud of him for making it out alive.

He turned to look at her. "What?"

She shrugged. "Nothing." She looked up in the rafters at Pig who was now sleeping peacefully. "You haven't changed all that much is all."

He levelled her with a look. "I am not the same person I was twenty years ago, Hermione, so don't fool yourself into believing I am."

She shrugged again. "You're harder now, but that's to be expected." Hermione turned towards him, touching his hand lightly. "Are you fine with the way things have turned out?"

He straightened up, staring down his nose at her. "Of course I am. You need to stop all this silliness about whether you did the right thing or not and look around you. The time of tyranny is at an end; the Dark Lord's rule is over and it's all because of you."

"But…"

"Stop acting like a spoiled child and accept things as they are," he interrupted harshly.

She stared at him for a moment before laughing. "You always did have a way with words, Professor."

"Lucius," he said softly. "While we are alone, call me Lucius." When she only stared at him, he continued. "I still consider you my friend, Hermione."

"And I you," she paused, "Lucius."

She almost swore that a ghost of a smile appeared on his face before he quickly masked it. "So why are you up here if you hate it so much?" she asked.

"Like Potter, I wanted to assure myself that you were alright." He frowned slightly as he looked at her. "You're not looking well." He touched her cheek lightly with the back of his hand. "Have you been getting any sleep at all?"

She nodded. "Yes," and then added at his stern look, "a little."

"You need more than a little sleep, Hermione. I understand that you're worried about Black, that mangy mutt gets in enough trouble without the Ministry's interference, but he wouldn't want you to do this to yourself."

"I'm fine," she asserted a little too forcefully. "I know I haven't exactly been eating a normal meal, but I'm just not hungry. I don't sleep, but then when have I ever gotten a full night's sleep? Never. I'm not a two year old, Lucius, I can take care of myself."

"Then start acting your age and quit moping about because Black hasn't sent you a love note," he snapped, icy eyes flashing.

Hermione clenched her hands by her side so that she wouldn't be tempted to hit him as they glared at each other. "I hate you right now, you know that right?"

He smirked. "You can say that as much as you like but you'll never truly hate me, Hermione. Get irritated at me, yes, but hate me? Never."

"You know, you're more like Harry then you'll admit. You're both cocky."

"Honest," he corrected instantly which only caused her to smirk

"Funny, when I told him he was cocky, he said he was honest as well." She grinned at him as he made a disgusted face. "You know, he's really not that bad. You should give him a chance." He rolled his eyes at that. "He gave you one."

Lucius remained silent as she watched him. From past experience, she knew that he was considering what she said, but she knew better than to expect him to acquiesce right away. She had faith in him though.

"Maybe," he said finally, almost inaudibly. He shifted nervously as one of the owls swooped dangerously close to him, sneering at the bird.

"They won't hurt you," Hermione teased, bumping against him with her shoulder.

"Most of them look diseased," he said, still glaring at the owl that was flying near his head. "Filthy creatures."

Hermione held back her laugh as she watched him clutch the cane tighter as the bird flew closer to him. She could tell that he wanted to smack it, but he was refraining. She held out her arm and the owl swooped down, landing gracefully upon it. "There, there, you don't want to land on him. He's likely to stuff you."

Lucius snorted. "Like I'd want to stare at the filthy thing all day." The owl hooted indignantly.

"There, there," Hermione cajoled, "he's mean to everyone so just ignore him. I think you're quite pretty myself. You have lovely feathers." The owl hooted softly and rubbed its head against her arm.

Hermione wasn't too sure, but it sounded as if Lucius muttered 'suck up.' She grinned up at him and then shooed the owl back to its perch up in the rafters.

"Are you liking Hogwarts?" she asked after a moment or two of silence.

He hesitated before answering. "Honestly, yes and no. I hate working. Truthfully, I have more than enough money from my investments to not have to work. I could stay at home if I wanted to."

"But it's too quiet at home," she said, saying what he was thinking. "Too many memories and not enough noise to drown them out. Being here, you can somewhat forget."

He nodded. "Quite right." He looked down at her. "But even the noise isn't enough sometimes to forget, is it Hermione?"

She looked up at him and smiled slightly. "No, not quite enough, but I've tried total seclusion and that doesn't work either."

"You mean your little excursion with Minerva to Scotland?" he inquired. At her nod, he scoffed. "Well that's just it, isn't it? You tried a place where you had memories and you were forced to remember. You need to go someplace new for a weekend, be so caught up in the place that you don't have time to think any of it through."

"And just how do you propose I go about doing that? If you haven't noticed, I'm kind of stuck at the moment."

Lucius smirked at her. "It pays to be a Professor sometimes. Allow me to speak to Minerva and I will arrange it all. As my class is your last class on Friday, we can leave then and be back on Monday."

"We?"

"You didn't think I would let you go alone, now did you? Besides, I could use a break from the incessant whining of the petulant children that inhabit this castle."

Hermione laughed. "You and Severus are two of a kind, Lucius. So where will we go?"

"That, my dear, will be a surprise."

"Meaning, you haven't decided on it yet, right?" she asked with a smile.

"I can guarantee you that it will be far away and in a much warmer climate. One without," he glared upwards, "_owls_."

Hermione smiled at him and turned to look out the window. "South of the equator it is then." She squinted her eyes as she saw an owl approaching, carrying a large envelope. "It'll take people longer to find us down there."

She shifted a little as the owl approached so that it could fly by her, but surprisingly it landed right beside her. "For me?" she asked with a frown, taking the envelope from the owl and watching it take flight again.

"Were you expecting a letter?" Lucius inquired with a frown.

"No." She turned the envelope over in her hand and froze. "It's from the Ministry."

She felt Lucius stiffen beside her. "What could they possibly want now?" he growled softly.

She broke the seal and opened it slowly. It was short and to the point, the contents causing her to go cold as she realized what it meant. She folded it back slowly and set it down beside her.

"Hermione?" Lucius placed his hand over top of hers that rested on the letter. "What's wrong? What did those imbeciles say?"

She turned her head to look up into his inquiring eyes. "Don't plan that trip for anytime soon, I won't be able to go anywhere for a while."

"Why?"

"The Ministry is charging me with obstruction of time and endangering the wizarding world." Her voice shook as she continued, "They're going to send me to Azkaban."

**I apologize for the length of time it's taking me to post on this story... I'm trying to write on it, but I'm stuck. My Muse has revolted and we're currently in negotiations to settle the strike. As always, thanks for reading.**

**Much Love,**

**MiZZ AmAyA**


	19. Tekau ma iwa

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter**

**Tekau ma Iwa**

_The Ministry is charging me with obstruction of time and endangering the wizarding world." Her voice shook as she continued, "They're going to send me to Azkaban." _

"No," Lucius replied evenly at length.

As Hermione fought back the tears, she shook her head. "I don't think there's anything I can do to stop them. They have a concrete case against me." She shoved the letter at him. "Here, read it yourself."

She wiped at her eyes as he opened the letter and read it. When he finished, he crumpled it up in his hand and pulled his wand out. She grabbed it from him before he could set fire to it.

"I won't allow it," he growled.

She gave a small smile as she shook her head again. "Thanks, but I doubt you'd make a difference this time. They're out for my blood and they're not going to stop until they get it."

"There has to be a way," he stressed, jumping to his feet. "You had no choice." He ran a hand through his hair. "They can't send you to Azkaban for saving the damn wizarding world and their asses!" he practically shouted.

Hermione stood up as well and took one of his hands in both of hers. "What happens, happens. I made my choice, and now I have to live with it."

He growled at her as he grabbed her shoulders, shaking her once. "I seriously want to strangle you right now, you silly girl. First you're moaning about whether you did the right thing or not about changing the past and now you're accepting it completely. Why are you giving up?"

"I'm accepting what I've done and I'm going to deal with the consequences of my actions." She stepped around him and headed towards the door. "I'll just have to get through this."

He grabbed hold of her arm and swung her back around before she could get out of the door. He cupped her face in her hands and leaned down towards her. "_We'll _get through this, Hermione, _we_."

"Why are you doing this, Lucius? Just let it go."

"No, Hermione." He stroked her cheek with his hand. "You refused to leave my side when I needed you and it's high time I repaid you. I'm not going to allow you to go to Azkaban."

Hermione stared at him for a moment before wrapping her arms tightly around him, hugging him. "Thanks, Lucius, you're a great friend," she pulled back, "but this time not even you can stop them." She kissed his cheek. "I'm going to go to bed."

Lucius kept his grip firm as she went to pull away. "Don't give up on me, Hermione. You've been through worse. You can make it through this, and this time you'll have more people standing by you. We'll help you through this. Just let me…"

"No," she interrupted, shaking her head, "let me deal with this, Lucius, it's my problem." She forced a smile to her lips. "Besides, I have a plan."

"You and plans, forgive me for saying, don't go together very well. Why can't you just give in and accept help just this once."

"I plan on getting help, Lucius, but we both know that you can't help me. You don't hold the same influence with the Ministry that you once did." She pulled herself out of his grip. "I'll be okay."

With that, she walked away from him before he could grab her, and before he could see the lingering doubt in her eyes. She wasn't too sure how it would end up this time, but she wasn't going to give up without a fight, even if it would be a losing one.

**AmAyAtHeGrEaThAtEsHeRjOb**

Lily shoved the old box of James' Quidditch supplies to the side and wiped the sweat from her brow. She had been shifting through the boxes in their attic for a good three hours now and there was still no end in sight. Most of the boxes contained James' old stuff, as well as some of Sirius'. Very little of it was Harry's, Rachel's, or even her own.

"This is ridiculous," she muttered darkly as one of the Marauder's old inventions snapped shut on her hand. She pointed her wand at the object and made it disappear.

"Lily?"

She straightened at the sound of Lauri's voice. "Up in the attic," she called down the stairs. She shoved some of the boxes out of the way so that Lauri could get through.

"What are you doing?" Lauri asked as she topped the stairs, staring around at the mess.

"Trying to get rid of some old stuff that we don't need anymore." Lily turned back around and took the next box off the top of a pile. "Some of this is James' from before he started Hogwarts. He's a packrat." She heard Lauri shifting around in some of the boxes close to the door. "Be careful of.."

"Ouch!" Lauri jerked her hand back quickly. "What the bloody hell was that?"

"Some of the Marauder's old stuff," Lily answered. "I was going to say, be careful of the boxes marked with a large 'M'. Believe me, you don't want to see some of the stuff in them."

"Thank Merlin that Remus was the good one," Lauri muttered as she checked the boxes for the 'M' marking.

Lily smiled at her over her shoulder. "Wouldn't be so sure of that. Some of the things in there were designed and made by him, and they're the most dangerous."

Lauri chuckled. "Well, no one can be completely good."

"So are you planning on helping?" Lily said as she shifted through the box of Harry's baby stuff. "Or are you going to run off like James and leave me with this mess?"

"I'll help," Lauri said, moving to stand beside her, "as long as you return the favour when I attempt to clean Declan's room."

"Deal," Lily said instantly. She closed up the box and marked it, putting it in the line of stuff to save. "I'm trying to save most of Harry's and Rachel's stuff so that they can have it for their children. I think I might save some of James' stuff for them too. Well, the safe stuff anyway."

"That means most of it has to go," Lauri said as she held up an indistinguishable item. "What is this?"

Lily hesitated taking it from her hand. "I honestly have no idea. What else is in the box with it?"

Lauri let the object fall to the ground. "Just some pictures and notes." Lauri picked the object back up. "You know, this sort of looks like a plant; albeit a very dead and dried up one, but a plant nonetheless."

Lily leaned over Lauri to reach into the box and pull out some of the pictures. "Hey, these are of Hermione and Sirius after we graduated."

"Why do you have them?" Lauri asked, confused. "Didn't she take all her stuff to their house after we graduated. We cleaned the place out after she died and I don't remember moving any of it in here."

"I don't either," Lily muttered as she shifted on through the box. "Look at all this stuff." She pulled out some of the books in the box. "I don't remember any of these." She looked over at Lauri. "Do you remember seeing any of these?"

"No," the brunette answered, "but she did keep some books in her old room at Hogwarts. Remember when I asked about them once and she changed the subject really quick."

"I wonder why she didn't want us to see them." She turned the book over in her hand. "It's in Latin."

"What else is in here," Lauri muttered as she dug in the box. "Ooh, found some of her old Christmas presents. Here's that snow globe that Sirius got her." She shook it and smiled as the snow whirled around inside of it.

Lauri glanced over at Lily to see her shifting through some of the loose pieces of parchment. "Are you sure you should be doing that?"

Lily glanced up and held the parchment out. "I can't make out any of it. It just looks like a bunch of numbers. Does it mean anything to you?"

Lauri studied the markings. "Not at all." She spread the parchment out on the floor and pointed her wand at it. "Reveal," she tried, watching as the numbers glowed for a brief second.

Lily rolled her eyes in a teasing manner. "Did you honestly think that Hermione would make it that easy on us."

"No, but it was worth a shot." She tried a couple more revealing spells, as well as some translating spells. None of them worked.

"Give it up Lauri, our girl protected her secrets with a padlock. No elementary spell is going to break whatever charm she put over this."

"I know, but still…" She let the sentence die off as she chewed on her lower lip. "I just want to know what it says." She looked up at Lily. "Do you realize that this could contain the secrets of the past future?"

"Do you realize that you're not making any sense?" Lily countered. "Past future?"

"What it would be like now if Hermione hadn't of changed anything," Lauri explained. "Or maybe it's something to do with a plan she had for Voldemort."

"More likely it's the makings of a spell," Lily said decisively. She gathered up the loose pieces and put them together. "We should return these to her anyway, along with everything else that is hers in the box."

"Yeah," Lauri agreed softly, "but I still just have to wonder how this stuff got here."

"I'm wondering that too," Lily agreed, then, "but maybe we found it for a reason."

"What do you mean?"

"Maybe we were supposed to find it now. Maybe she wasn't supposed to have it until she was ready to have it. Maybe she has to do something."

Lauri chuckled, nudging her friend playfully. "And maybe there's just one too many maybes in your configurations, but _maybe_ you do have a point."

Lily smiled. "I do every now and then."

"Okay, so we take this stuff to Hermione and then wait and see. Hopefully she'll know what to do with all of this."

Lily placed the parchment back in the box along with all of Hermione's old possessions. "I have no doubt she will, and if she doesn't, well, she'll figure it out." She smiled. "She is Hermione after all."

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTwAnTsApUpPy**

Hermione stopped in front of the familiar painting and stared at the empty frame. "Falco?" she questioned softly, running her fingers over the edge of the portrait. "Falco, if you can hear me, can you please come to me?"

She held her breath and counted to twenty, waiting for him to reappear. Just when she was about to give up hope and turn away, he popped into the picture.

"Ah, Hermione, I thought you said you were going to stay in the Gryffindor common room tonight," he said with a large smile that faltered when he saw the look on her face. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

She laughed nervously. "Yeah, something happened alright. Let's talk about it inside." Without waiting for the password, Falco swung the portrait hole open so she could enter, shutting it quickly behind her.

She went over to the couch in front of the fire and took a seat, waiting for him to come through to one of the portraits. She heard several 'shoos' before Falco finally appeared in the portrait above the fireplace.

"Alright, everyone's gone. Now what's wrong, dear?"

Hermione bit her lip nervously as she stared at his worried eyes. "The Ministry is pressing charges against me for knowingly altering time and they have a sound case against me. If they win, Falco, they're going to send me to Azkaban."

He snorted. "I doubt that your Mr. Potter or Mr. Black will allow that, or anyone else for that matter. The Ministry is only blowing air out of their…"

"Falco," Hermione interrupted quickly before he could finish that sentence. "Sirius is away where I can't contact him for help, the Ministry made sure of that. I think they've been planning this for a while. That means that there's something they want from me."

Falco tapped his chin as he paced back and forth in his portrait. "Well, they did practically blackmail you in the past to work for them. That could be their plan this time as well."

"True," Hermione agreed. "Do you think they are planning to use me in some way? They had no qualms about using Harry as their poster boy when the wizarding world was losing faith in them. Maybe they believe that I could serve the same purpose."

"That may be true," he murmured thoughtfully, "but I believe it's more than that. If they merely wanted to use you as their mascot, they could have done that in a number of other ways. It has to be something much more for them to put you in a position where you have no other choice than to do what they want."

"The only question is what." She drew in a deep breath and released it slowly. "Though I loathe to admit it, I'm nervous about this whole situation. Usually I can at least guess what they're planning, but this time I honestly have no idea."

Falco watched her as she chewed on her lower lip nervously. He could see the fear in her eyes, but there was something else there. She was hiding something from not only him, but the rest of the world.

"Hermione," he began slowly, "do you remember before the final battle when everyone was whispering about Mr. Potter being the Chosen One?"

She smiled slightly. "Yeah."

"It was said that only he would be able to defeat Voldemort."

Her smile slipped. "Yeah," she said again, only quieter.

"I take it that they were partly right in their assumptions about the connection between Mr. Potter and Voldemort," he said, watching her closely.

"Partly," she answered simply.

He nodded. Then, "Hermione, how did Voldemort finally die?"

She looked up at him with timid eyes. "That's just it, I don't think he's dead."

**I know, I know, I'm horrible! I'm having a lot of trouble on this story. I had a clearcut idea when I started about where this story was going, but now I'm just confused. Sorry to take so long on updating.**

**MiZZ AmAyA**


	20. Rua tekau

**DISCLAIMER: Don't own anything that you recognize...**

**Author's Note: My apologies for the lengthy delay. I will not bore you with an explanation, but I hope to have this story done by the end of August.**

**Rua tekau**

Harry pulled his cloak tighter around him as he sat high on the hill overlooking Hogwarts. Ever since he found this place his first year, he had been seeking it out when he needed time to himself to think. He shared this spot with no one for it was his alone.

But now, strangely enough, it seemed _too _quiet.

He missed those who died in the war. He missed having Ron around to laugh at. He missed the warmth of Ginny's smile as she entered the room. He even missed Malfoy at times.

But at the moment, he missed the easiness he once shared with Hermione. The easiness that had disappeared when she'd discovered her past. He wanted that easiness back.

But he knew that she would never completely let him in. She was too scared to let anyone really close to her anymore. She guarded her heart and her secrets carefully.

He gave a sigh and leaned back against the rock. The breeze ruffled his hair as he stared out at the castle. It really was quite impressive in all its splendour. He had forgotten the majesty that he had felt upon first laying eyes on the place he would call home.

He had forgotten a lot of things along the way.

He looked up to see Hedwig circling high above his head. He called to her and waited till she swooped towards him. She perched upon his shoulder, rubbing her head against his cheek. She seemed a little too attuned to his feelings sometimes.

"Hey girl," he said softly as he patted her gently. "Been flying long?"

She cooed at him, her tawny eyes sparkling in the sun's light. He smirked at her as she started to clean her wings with her beak. "Would you, by chance, be avoiding Pig?"

If owls could give death glares, then she was giving him one then.

"You don't have to look at me like that," Harry said, chucking her under her chin. "It was just a little question. No need to get all huffy." He paused and then gave a small chuckle. "Although, you do have to admit, it _is_ funny."

She gave him one last indignant look before flying off. "Hey!" Harry shouted after her. "Don't fly off." As she flew higher still, he sighed. "Ah, come on, Hedwig. I was just teasing."

Harry ran a hand through his hair as she disappeared from view. "Well," he said to himself solemnly. "There's another to add to the list of those who aren't talking to me."

Harry closed his eyes and concentrated on the soft sounds of that around him. It was then that he accepted that the battles were finally over. There would be peace now for a while, until the next lunatic came around and decided to try to rule the world.

There would always be a lunatic.

But for now Harry was determined to enjoy his peace. He was also determined to make Hermione enjoy the brief respite they had been gifted. He wanted to give her a break for once and allow her to slow down.

She deserved it after everything she had been through, and was still going through because of those idiots at the Ministry of Magic.

Somehow he would fix everything, he decided. After all, what good was being the Boy-Who-Lived if he couldn't help his best friend?

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTlOvEsHuNtInGsEaSoN **

_He nodded. Then, "Hermione, how did Voldemort finally die?"_

_She looked up at him with timid eyes. "That's just it, I don't think he's dead."_

"Hermione, you have to tell them if that's true," Falco told her after he had swallowed that little bit of information. "They have to know."

She shook her head. "But I don't know if I'm right or not. It's only a feeling I have, and we can't go on just feelings." She crossed her arms over her chest. "I have to get some proof before I tell them."

"At least tell your young Mr. Potter," Falco tried to reason with her. "He would help you find the proof you need and would keep it quiet as well."

"No," she whispered softly, "I can't do that to him."

"What do you mean?"

She looked up at him. "He's been through so much. He's finally getting the break he deserves. If I share my worries with him, he'll not find any peace for a long time."

"Hermione, listen to me. You can't do everything on your own. You're going to need help on this one, whether you want to admit it or not."

"Not Harry," she said with a tone of finality. "Not this time."

"Then get someone else to help you," Falco tried to reason with her. "Surely there must be someone else that you trust enough to help you out. I know there are many that would happily lay down there life to help you in this particular quest."

She stood up and walked over to the window to stare out at the grounds. "That's just the problem, they may end up having to give up their life if they go with me. Voldemort could end up killing them."

"He could kill you just the same," Falco interrupted. "If fact, he'd have a better chance at killing you if you go alone. At least with help it would take some effort to kill you."

Hermione shook her head, her eyes looking out at the spot where the battle had taken place. "He won't kill me right away if he captures me."

"How can you be so sure of that?"

"He wants me on his side. He never had the chance before to capture me. If he does happen to get me, then he'll take the opportunity to try to force me to his side."

"Are you so sure of that?"

She drew in a deep breath and released it slowly as she turned her head to look at him over her shoulder. "It's the only hope I'll have if he does capture me. He has a high grudge against me at the moment so I'm hoping his need for power will outweigh his anger at me."

Falco smiled slightly at her. "I will hope then, for your sake, that he still has need of you."

She nodded and turned back to the window. After a moment, she lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "You know, I may just be worrying for nothing. He may truly be dead and I may just be overreacting."

"Or you may be completely correct and he may just be biding his time before he strikes again." Falco transferred himself into one of the portraits beside the window so he could look down into her face. "Hermione, you can't do it all by yourself."

She rounded on him angrily. "Do you think that I want to do it by myself? No, I would love to have help, but every time that I have asked for help in the past, I only ended up getting someone killed." She shook her head as she turned back away from him. "I will not let another die for me."

"Do you think that maybe young Mr. Potter feels the same?" Falco inquired after a moment or two of silence.

Hermione scrunched up her brow as she turned slowly to gaze up at him. "What?"

"Well, you do not wish for others to die for you, but didn't you give up your life for young Harry? Did you not remove the choice from him?"

"That's not the same," Hermione said immediately.

"Is it not?" he countered, brow arched. He walked towards the edge of the frame. "As you said before, Hermione, there are some things that are worth dying for. Keep that in mind."

And with that, he left the portrait, leaving her alone in the room.

Hermione hugged her arms to her chest as she considered everything Falco had said. She knew that she wouldn't be able to do it alone, but she refused to involve Harry in her little suicide mission.

But maybe she could ask someone else….

**AmAyAtHeGrEaThAtEsHeRnEwLoVeLiFe**

Lily and Lauri showed up at Hogwarts on the morning of the tenth of October just as everyone was getting ready to travel to Hogsmeade. They manoeuvred their way through the crowds easily until they were safely standing on the other side of the hall away from the throng of students.

Lily frowned slightly as she watched them push and fight their way through the doors to freedom. "Were we ever that…rambunctious?"

"Slightly," Lauri answered honestly, "but you have to remember that in the past couple of years, they have been extremely constricted as to how much freedom they were allowed due to the war. It's only natural that they're basking in it now."

Lily's eyes showed the compassion that overwhelmed her. "True. They had so much stolen from them these past few years."

Lauri nodded solemnly before saying very softly, "It's made them stronger, and for that, they will be able to survive better now."

"Like us?"

Lauri nodded sadly. "Like us." She drew in a deep breath. "But, stories often have happy endings, as does life, so we should dwell on the good instead of the bad."

"Too true." Lily looked at the now almost empty hallway. "You didn't happen to see any of ours fly by here, did you, during the stampede?"

"No, you?"

"Nope." Lily smiled as she began her way down the hall. "Guess we should go look for them. Hopefully we'll run into someone who can point us in the direction of where they are hiding."

"Or we can simply ask Rachel," Lauri said as she looked at something off in the distance.

"Mum?" Lily turned to gift her youngest with a warm smile. "What are you doing here?"

"What? Can't a mother come and visit her children anymore?"

"No," Rachel said quickly. "So what do you want?"

Lily sighed dramatically. "Fine, since my only daughter does not want to see me, I guess I'll just have to go visit someone else…"

"You want to know where Hermione is?" Rachel asked cleverly.

Lily smiled with relief. "Yes."

"She's in the library with Declan. They both decided to forgo the trip to Hogsmeade."

Lily hugged her daughter quickly in thanks, giving her a quick kiss much to her daughter's protest- there were other students coming down the halls now after all- before turning and heading back down the hall towards the library with Lauri falling in step beside her.

The library, they discovered, was nearly deserted. Mainly the occupants were first and second year Ravenclaws, although they were few and far in between. Making a quick sweep, they discovered Hermione and Declan sitting towards the back. Declan was the first to notice them.

"Mum?" he asked, disbelievingly. "What are you doing _here_?" His tone held the note that he clearly thought they were checking up on him. During and after the war, Lauri had grown a little over protective of him and, though given that she now lived at Hogwarts since Remus was teaching, she had learned her boundaries around him.

"_I_ live here," she stated. She did not coddle. No, she couldn't even begin to think why he would accuse her of it- for he did just that after school had started when she was constantly following him around with 'helpful' tips.

His eyes narrowed slightly on his mother. "Yeah, but you are supposed to be spending the next two weeks with Aunt Lily. _Dad_ promised."

"Yeah, well that's what you get for taking a Marauder's promise." Lauri smirked at his scowl and tutted her only child. "Besides, I'm your mother and I'm allowed to visit you, even if you do think I'm stalking you."

"I never said you were stalking me," Declan argued. "I said you were smothering, and what would you call it when your mother very nearly followed you into the loo since she was so distracted telling you what she had heard Marrisa Hortley saying?"

"She thought you were cute!"

"Yeah, well I don't care. I liked my ignorance." He picked up his book and propped it up in front of him. "And now, if you don't mind, I'm going to do my homework while pretending you're not checking up on me, again."

Lily and Hermione, meanwhile, were having a chuckle at the mother and son. Lauri loved her son more than anything and was terrified of losing him. The war had worried her and now that he had survived that, she wanted to make sure that he was always safe. Declan, though protesting at the constant attention from his mother, was glad that she was around an he could always go to her. Not that you would hear it from him, of course.

"For your information," Lauri huffed as she placed her hands on her hips, "we didn't come to see you. We came to see Hermione. _You_ just happened to be with her."

Declan didn't reply as he continued to read the book in front of him. Hermione smiled at the younger boy and then turned towards the two women. "What can I help you with?"

"We were sorting through some boxes and came across some of your stuff," Lauri said, while attempting to discreetly scoot closer to her son.

At Hermione's frown, Lily continued, "Some of your old stuff you had before you-"

"Died?" Hermione completed when Lily seemed at a loss. She smiled slightly at their grimaces. She found it slightly amusing how, after all these years of getting used to the idea that she _was_ Hermione, they were still tiptoeing around talking about her death.

"Yeah," Lily said finally with a nod.

"What did you find?" Hermione asked in interest. She watched as Lily removed a shrunken box from her pocket and held it out to Hermione.

"You might want to restore it to its original size somewhere else," Lauri advised with a look in her eyes that told Hermione that some of the contents should remain private.

"Will do," she said with a nod.

"If you want to talk, about _anything_," Lily said, placing her hand on Hermione's shoulder, "just floo or go to Lauri. She can get in touch with me anytime."

Hermione stared at the older woman and smiled. Lily, more than anyone, knew what Hermione was going through. "Thanks," she said softly, "I will."

Lily continued to stare at her for a moment or two before leaning down and hugging the younger witch. She held her tightly as she whispered in her ear, "Don't worry about everything. It has all happened for a reason and nothing is your fault. This is your other destiny, Hermione, and it is meant to be this way."

Hermione drew in a sharp breath as she kept her head firmly turned away from everyone so as not to give away what she was feeling. "Are you sure?" she asked hesitantly, muttering softly so that only Lily would hear.

She felt Lily smile as she squeezed her. "Positive." She pulled back slightly and took Hermione's face in her hands. "Don't worry about Sirius either. You'd be surprise what that man has managed to live through."

Despite herself, Hermione chuckled, shaking her head at the truth behind that statement. "Thank you, Lily, for everything."

The redhead smiled as she lightly ruffled Hermione's hair. "No problem."

**Much love,**

**MiZZ AmAyA**


	21. Rua tekau ma tahi

**DISCLAIMER: Don't own anything that you recognize.**

**Rua tekau ma tahi **

It was after dinnertime before Hermione was finally able to shake everybody off and return to the solitude of her old room. She glanced down both sides of the hallway before leaning in close to Falco's portrait and whispering the password. He, too, glanced down both sides, before swinging open and letting her in.

Once inside, he popped through into another frame and said, "Mind telling me what all that was about?" with a raised brow.

Hermione glanced up at him in confusion. "What?"

"The glancing, the sneaking… all of that." He made a waving gesture with his hand as he walked through all the frames in the room, circling her like a predator inspecting prey. He stopped in his own frame. "Hiding from someone, are we?"

"No, I just was making sure that I was finally alone." She shrugged. "I wasn't trying to sneak, really." She settled into the corner of the couch and pulled the shrunken box from her robe pocket.

"What's that?" Falco inquired as he caught sight of it.

"Lily and Lauri brought it by earlier. They found it up in Lily's attic apparently." She turned the box over in her hand. "It's mine."

"From before?"

Hermione nodded. "Yeah, it is." She frowned as she placed the box on the coffee table and leaned back in the couch, staring at it. "I don't remember packing anything up, though."

"Maybe someone else packed it," Franco suggested.

"I don't think so," she said slowly. "Lily and Lauri didn't look like they knew what it was either, though Lily said that I would want to open it in private. I can only assume that they looked through it, but I don't think they know what the stuff is in it."

"What's in there?"

Hermione shrugged and pulled out her wand. "Only one way to find out." She enlarged the box and tucked her wand back into her robe pocket. She glanced up at him before leaning forward and slowly opening up the box.

"What….," Hermione held the plant up in front of her, staring at it in confusion. "A plant?"

"Is there anything else in the box?"

Hermione placed the plant on the coffee table and continued to dig through the box. She pulled out some sheets of parchment and a couple of books. Opening the books, she paused. "They're all in Latin." She turned quickly to Falco. "The book…."

"Look over on the shelf," Falco said as he began to walk through the frames once more. Hermione stood and walked over to the shelf, scanning the books. "Third shelf down, I think….yes, right there, fourth book over…"

Hermione pulled the book out of the shelf and looked at it. "Now this I remember." She flipped through the book quickly, looking for a passage. She stopped flipping and drew in a sharp breath. "This is it," she said softly, staring at the page in front of her.

She walked back over to the couch and placed the book_, Spells of Yesteryear_, down on the coffee table beside the sheets of parchment. She glanced up at Falco and he gave her an encouraging nod. She whispered the spell and instantly the words on the pages of the books started to glow as they translated themselves.

She frowned. Falco gazed at her as she flipped through the books slowly, her eyes quickly scanning the text. "What's wrong?" he asked after a lengthy silence.

"I don't remember reading any of these." She finally turned away from them to look up at him. "I can remember almost everything from that time, especially books I read, but these are not familiar. Why would they be with my stuff?"

Falco shrugged and then began to pace in the portrait. "I cannot be sure…but I think you are receiving help from someone." He stopped for a second before walking out of the frame without saying anything.

Hermione waited for him to return, but he didn't even after a couple of minutes. She stood and walked over to the portrait, ready to call out for him when he suddenly popped back into the frame.

She opened her mouth, but paused when she saw his expression. There was something there in his eye when he stared at her- worry. "Falco?"

"You need to report to your Aunt's office, Hermione," he said simply, slow as if forcing himself to remain calm.

"Is something wrong?"

He didn't say anything, merely swung open to let her pass through. She gave him a curious look before setting off down the hallway.

**AmAyAtHeGrEaThAsFoUnDaNeWoBsEsSiOn**

Lucius settled back into the plush chair in front of the hearth. He had kept his private offices at Hogwarts quite like his private office at the manor. He enjoyed the dark colours and how they contrasted nicely against each other. A man he may be, but Lucius considered himself a man with great taste and didn't mind saying so.

He swirled the plum coloured liquid around slowly in the glass, merely staring past it and into the flames. He had made his excuses with Severus hours ago and had since locked himself into his rooms. He wanted to be alone with his thoughts for a while and he didn't enjoy Severus trying to pry into his every thought when they were in the same room.

He had poured himself a glass of wine upon entering, called a house elf to tend to the fire, and then settled into the chair he now reclined slightly in. He hadn't moved since.

His current mood was one he was not quite used to. He didn't know how to describe it exactly, which was why he wanted to get out of Severus' knowing presence and into his own private sanctum where he could think.

The object of his thoughts was, of course, Hermione Granger.

He would be lying if he said he hadn't had a single impure thought involving her over the years. He had had quite a few actually. When he had been a teen, she had been a mystery to him. Her mannerisms and the mysteriousness surrounding her past had drawn him in almost instantly. At first, he only considered her "friend material." That had lasted all of two weeks. Soon he was just as enamoured with her as Black, and would probably have given anything to be with her.

He had accepted at that young age that it would never be and had embraced her as a friend. Even when he had received the letters from the Dark Lord and had tried to push her away, all he had wanted to do was whisk her away and escape from the world. He had known even then that it would have been impossible to do so and so he had tried to push her away, foolishly thinking that _he_ could prevent any harm from befalling her.

When she had died that night and the Dark Lord had disappeared, Lucius had known something was wrong with the entire situation. From what he had heard, it seemed almost as if she had known what would happen that night. Surely if she had known that the rat was a traitor, she wouldn't have let him be the secret keeper… that is unless she had wanted him to tell the Dark Lord.

Lucius sipped at his drink. He knew the moment he had seen her during her second year with Potter and the Weasley clan that she had orchestrated the whole thing. It had only taken him the few brief moments when he had been standing back in the shadows watching her with his son to put all the pieces together.

He knew more of her actions during her past six years at Hogwarts than he had his own son. He had used every resource available to him to keep a close eye on her to make sure she came to no harm. He found the way that the Potters and Lupins guarded over her slightly amusing. They thought they could actually prevent her from the truth… and from the Dark Lord.

Lucius placed his glass on the table and stood, walking over to the mantle. He planted his hands on the stones, leaning in close as he looked at the single picture sitting atop it. Narcissa had that cold sneer upon her face that was typical of her family while Draco had a look of superiority on his face. He, however, was looking quite bored, as usual, and was looking at something off to the side.

His finger traced the image of Draco. The boy was wearing his Slytherin uniforms, his prefect badge proudly displayed directly above the Hogwarts crest. He had already started growing his hair out at the time the portrait was done. Lucius hadn't noticed the difference the boy was inflicting upon himself until it was too late.

Too late he had noticed how the boy was trying to become him.

Draco was dead. The funeral had been rather small, just a few of the older pureblood families that were not tainted with suspicion. Narcissa had been buried the same day, having died fighting in the war. Lucius hadn't known that she had joined the Dark Lord until he had seen her standing out on the battlefield with Acanthi Nott.

He felt no remorse over her death, though he did feel a bit morose over Draco's. The boy was his heir after all. Lucius would have been lying if he said he hadn't been disappointed in the boy, but if he was honest with himself, his disappointment probably stemmed from the fact that he held him in constant comparison to Hermione.

Moving his hand slowly, Lucius gently placed the photograph face down on the mantle before turning away. His family was gone. He was alone once more.

"She blames herself for your son's death, you know."

Lucius stiffened at the voice, but didn't turn around. Instead, he planted both hands firmly on the mantle of the fireplace and stared straight at the stones. "Why are you here?"

"To find you, of course. It's been a long time, Lucius."

Finally, he turned to glare at Falco who had apparently convinced Lord Aloysius Malfoy to leave his portrait. "What do you want?"

Falco gave a slight shrug of his shoulders as he turned and paced slowly along the frame. "To talk," he said after a pause, turning his head slowly to look Lucius straight in the eye. "She refuses to forgive herself for killing Draco."

Lucius scoffed, turning to pick his glass back up and draining it in one go. "She shouldn't," he grumbled. "It was her or him, and I don't blame her one bit."

The corner of Falco's lip tilted up slightly as he crossed his arms. "I never said that she thought that _you_ blamed her. She blames herself, Lucius."

Lucius swept his arm out in an angry gesture, glaring at the man in the frame. "What do you expect me to do? She's currently refusing any sort of help I'm trying to offer her." He slammed the empty glass down on the mantle, resting his forehead against the cold stone. "I don't know what to do, Falco," he continued softly.

Falco remained quiet for a while, so quiet that eventually Lucius turned back around to find the other man merely surveying him. They stared at each other for a while before Falco said quietly, "Just be there for her."

Lucius watched as the other man exited the frame. He stood there for a while longer before sighing softly and retreating to his chair. Slinking down in the plush material, he rested his chin on his hand and stared into the fire, the flames curling to form the face of Hermione Granger.

**AmAyAtHeNoNgReAtLoStaBuNcHoFcHaPtErS**

Hermione stared at the slightly pleased face of the Ministry official, her mouth opened slightly as she digested what she was just told. Minerva stood behind Hermione, her hand resting on the other girl's shoulder in a gesture meant to comfort…or to restrain.

"No," Hermione finally spat out, shaking her head angrily. She glared at the eager young man standing in front of her. "You're lying."

The man bristled slightly, though he still seemed to be smirking. "Miss Granger, despite what you may think about us, we at the Ministry do not make it a habit to lie…"

Both Hermione and the Head Mistress, along with quite a few of the paintings, snorted loudly at that, causing the man to narrow his eyes on them.

"Oh no, you would never lie," Hermione spat out sarcastically.

"Miss Granger," the man started again, only to be cut off by the door opening.

"Forgive me, am I late?"

Hermione smiled at Albus Dumbledore who stood calmly by the door, surveying the now slightly nervous Ministry official. He gave her a small wink when the man dropped his folder and had to bend down to retrieve it.

"Headmas…," the man stuttered, "Mr. Dumbledore. I, that is, we at the Ministry were not aware that you would be present when we met with Miss Granger."

Albus smiled, folding his hands together in front of him as he calmly walked to one of the empty chairs in front of the desk, settling down into it slowly. He turned his gaze back to the man then, still smiling pleasantly. "I was not aware that this was a private meeting."

The man's mouth opened and closed a number of times before he stuttered, "Of course not sir, but you see…"

"I, of course, just happened to be at the Ministry when I overheard that some Ministry officials had been sent to Hogwarts to speak with Miss Granger," Albus continued smoothly. "Naturally, as one of Miss Granger's advisors in her case, I thought I should be present whenever you spoke with her."

The man blinked and looked from Hermione to Dumbledore, his lips parted as he considered what to say. "But sir…," he stuttered.

Dumbledore smiled pleasantly while Hermione and Minerva looked on, unsure of what to say. He leaned back in the chair slightly, settling comfortably. His twinkling blue eyes looked down at the folder in the man's hands. "I'm guessing that you have come to bring information regarding the Ministry's allegations against Miss Granger."

"But sir…"

"The Minister and I spoke recently about these allegations. He assured me that we would be receiving a full copy of all the charges as soon as possible." Dumbledore kept that small smile on his face the entire time, brining the man in front of him to a stuttering mess.

"Albus," Minerva started softly, but was stopped when Dumbledore raised his hand.

"You see, Minerva, I'm sure once the charges are looked at completely, we can come to an understanding with the Ministry," he stated smoothly.

The Ministry official fumbled with the folder in his hand, flicking through it. He glanced up, a little frazzled still by the former Headmaster's calm demeanor. "But sir, I don't have a copy of the charges on me."

Dumbledore's expression never changed as he said calmly, "You don't?"

"No sir," the man said, slowly shaking his head. "I was never notified that a copy of the charges were supposed to be sent over."

Dumbledore shifted slowly in his seat. "May I inquire about the contents of the folder?"

The man looked from Dumbledore to Hermione once more, not saying anything. Finally, Minerva took a step to stand directly beside Hermione, her hand still resting on the younger woman's shoulder. She gave her a light squeeze when Hermione turned her head to look out the woman.

"Albus," Minerva said softly, "Sirius is missing."

Hermione turned back to glare at the Ministry official. "They're saying he's dead."

**In good news: The story is actually almost done on my computer. Trying to switch around a few things and get it all ironed out and then... it'll be done! Also, got a new story almost complete which will go up IMMEDIATELY following this... and then... MoonyNZ and I are working on a joint story which should be exciting!**

**Much love, as always,**

**MiZZ AmAyA**


	22. Rua tekau ma rua

**DISCLAIMER: So once upon a time there was a girl that dreamed of writing a decent story one day… that girl was me and unfortunately I'm not yet JK Rowling**

**Rua tekau ma rua**

Hermione sat curled up in front of the fireplace, a thick blanket wrapped around her shoulders. A number of pictures were scattered on the bare floor around her, each displaying the beaming face of Sirius. In some he was fooling around with the other Marauders, while in others he was with her.

An empty bottle of mead stood near her, no glass in sight as she had no need for one. Her face was emotionless now, five hours after receiving the news. The tear tracks still visible on her cheeks were the only visible sign of the pain she felt.

She didn't shift as she heard the portrait hole opening quietly behind her, but merely remarked monotonously, "I hope you brought another bottle with you."

The soft pad of footsteps approached, only stopping when they were directly beside her. "I'll do you one better," the owner of the footsteps said as he flipped out his cloak and settled beside her, "I brought two."

Hermione said nothing, only held out her hand as she waited for Lucius to hand her the bottle. She took a drink without looking at the bottle, pausing for a moment before turning her head to look at the man beside her. "Firewhisky?"

He shrugged. "If you do not want it, I can always take it back," he said, reaching for it.

She jerked the bottle back, quickly taking another drink of the harsh liquid. She turned back away from him to stare into the flames as she took an occasional drink from the bottle. She listened to him stir beside her, conjuring a glass with a smooth flick of his wrist to pour some of the liquid into for himself.

She snorted softly, taking another swig directly from the bottle. "Too good to drink out of the bottle now?"

"My dear Hermione," Lucius drawled, pausing to take a drink from his glass, "I have always been too good to drink from the bottle."

Despite her mood, Hermione found herself smiling at Lucius' aristocratic mannerisms. She found that she actually had missed him, now that she had regained her memories of their easy friendship.

Remembering the past, Hermione's mood darkened once more. She took a long swill from the bottle, letting the liquid burn her throat. She heard Lucius taking slow drinks from his own glass beside her, both remaining silent as they stared into the fire.

Finally, she said, "He's not dead."

She listened while Lucius took a deep breath, exhaling slowly as he considered how to voice his thoughts. "I know," he finally said softly, taking another drink from his glass.

Hermione's head snapped around to look at him, her lips parted softly as she considered him. "You believe me?"

He scoffed softly, filling up his glass once more. He turned and pinned her with his icy stare. "Black is too damn stubborn to die," was his response.

She couldn't help but to chuckle at that, leaning over slightly to rest her head on his shoulder. "That he is," she commented softly. The smile slowly fell form her face as she stared into the fire. "But what if…," she started softly.

Lucius turned, placing a finger under her chin to raise her face toward his. "Hermione, listen to me, no matter what the Ministry says, Sirius Black is not dead. Though I hate the mutt, there is no way he would let himself be killed now after all that you two have been through."

Hermione nervously bit her lower lip, staring up at him sadly. "But what if…"

Lucius growled softly, gripping her chin firmly as he leaned closer to her. "And what if he is, Hermione? Will you whisk yourself up to the Headmistress' office and take yourself back to the past once more? Will you set out to save your precious Black?"

She smacked his hand away, glaring up at him. "You don't understand anything."

His eyes narrowed on her as he caught her hand, gripping it tightly. "Don't I?" He pushed her hand away angrily. "You are the one that has never understood, Hermione."

She glowered as he stood and walked over to the fireplace, taking both the glass and the bottle with him. "_I_ don't understand? I saw the other present, Lucius. I know how it could have turned out. I've faced Voldemort numerous times. I think I understand."

He turned to survey her coolly. After a while, he said softly, "Not everything is about war."

Her head tilted slightly to the side as she stared at him, rising slowly to her own feet. "Lucius? I don't…"

"Understand?" he bit out harshly. "Of course you don't." Suddenly, he slammed both the glass and the bottle down on the mantle and stalked toward her. He gripped her upper arms tightly and jerked her against him. "You never did."

Then, he kissed her.

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTlOvEsNcIs**

Harry stormed through the castle, searching for Hermione, Rachel, or Declan… anyone really. However, finding said people was a little hard when he was also trying to dodge every other member of the Hogwarts community. He didn't want to see anyone, to talk to anyone, but his family at the moment, and yet each and every one of them remained elusive.

He leaned against the wall beside one of the large statues on the fifth floor. Grasping his hair, he crouched down and touched his forehead to his knees, taking a few deep breaths. He didn't want to believe what they had told him, couldn't allow himself to believe it. Sirius couldn't be dead, not after everything.

"Hermione, where are you?" he whispered softly to himself, glancing up and down the corridor. He stood back up and headed toward the stairs. He briefly ducked into an empty classroom when he heard a group of giggling girls heading his way. He was just nearing the end of the sixth floor corridor when he heard a voice call out his name.

Harry spun around quickly and looked around, but didn't see anyone. Frowning slightly, he started back up the corridor when he heard his name once more.

"Hello?" he said, looking all around.

"Over here, Harry."

Harry turned to his right and saw Falco smiling at him from one of the frames. Glancing up and down the hall, he noticed that none of the other portraits were in their frames and there were only the two of them occupying the hallway. Smiling, he turned back to Falco. "How do you always convince the whole lot of them to leave?"

Falco chuckled softly and settled himself into the plush chair in the portrait. "That, my dear boy, is a secret."

Harry walked over toward him, stopping right in front of the frame. "Have you seen Hermione, Falco? I've been searching all over for her but I can't…"

"She is where she needs to be at the moment," Falco interrupted, smiling indulgently.

"Does she know?"

"Of course," the man in the frame answered, and then, anticipating the next question, continued, "and she, like you, does not believe that he is truly dead." He paused. "And yet, even the strongest of us all have our doubts."

"Sir, I need to find her," Harry said quickly, taking another step closer.

"Not yet, my boy. There are some things she needs to work out first." Falco stood and walked over to the painted fireplace. He smiled at Harry. "And you, too, need to work some things out on your own as well."

"Sir?"

"Think, Harry. Think back to that night and go over the details in your mind."

"You mean the night of the final battle?" Harry inquired, slightly confused as to what the other man was implying. "What is there to think about?"

Falco smiled secretly as he casually strolled out of the frame he was currently occupying and into another. "A lot, I imagine, if one knows what exactly he needs to think about."

Harry stared at him for what must have been minutes, each merely looking at the other. "Well?" Harry finally inquired after a bit. "Are you going to tell me what I'm supposed to be thinking about?"

"No, Harry, I shall not, for this is something you must figure out on your own. Promises must be kept, after all," he continued secretly. He stared thoughtfully at Harry for a minute before adding, "I will say this, though, the words whispered and the acts carried out do not correspond."

Harry stared at the empty frame long after Falco left, strolling leisurely from frame to frame until he was completely out of sight. Harry only moved when he heard a group of students moving down the corridor toward him. Shaking his head slightly, he strolled back down the hallway toward the Gryffindor common room.

He was almost to the portrait of the Fat Lady when he heard his name being called out once more. He turned to find Rachel dashing down the hallway toward him, dragging Declan along behind her.

"Have you heard?" she asked breathlessly. Worry shown in her eyes as she wrapped her arms around her older brother. "Is it true, Harry? Is it?"

Harry wrapped his arms around her tightly and looked over her shoulder at Declan who looked just as worried, though he was trying desperately not to show it. "How many times has he almost died before, Squirt, and made it out alive?"

She sniffled, burying her head into his chest. "But what if he doesn't this time?"

Harry pulled back slightly and lifted her chin up so that he could see her face. "We have to trust in him, Kiddo. He's only missing. They have no real proof as of yet that he is dead. Until then, we cannot give up hope, alright?"

She nodded, sniffling again as she wrapped her arms tightly around him once more, snuggling against him. Declan stepped forward then and rested his hand on her back. Immediately, she let go of Harry and threw herself at the other boy, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding on tight.

Amused, Harry smiled as Declan awkwardly held her, trying to comfort the distressed girl. Taking pity on him, he said, "Why don't we head up to my room and see if we can get some pumpkin juice or hot cider from the house elves?"

"Come on, Rachel," Declan said softly, steering the girl toward the portrait hole as Harry gave the Fat Lady the password. "Let's see if we can convince them to sneak us up some chocolate as well."

Rachel laughed then, smiling at both boys. She walked in between them as they crossed the busy common room and headed up the boys stairwell and on up to Harry's room. There were only three beds now, where there had once been five.

Rachel settled herself on Harry's bed, wrapping her arms tightly around one of his pillows. Declan sat toward the edge, leaning back against one of the posts. Meanwhile, Harry called out for Dobby and requested three glasses of hot cider and some chocolate pudding. Dobby was only too happy to comply and brought the food and drinks back to them in a matter of minutes.

Harry left his bowl of pudding on the stand, grasping his mug tightly as he walked over to the window and stared out. Rachel and Declan both gazed at him quizzically as he frowned to himself, lost in his own thoughts.

"Harry?" Rachel finally asked, drawing his attention to her.

"Hmm?"

"What's wrong?" she asked, softly.

"I…," he started, and then paused, shaking his head, "it's nothing really, just something that…" He shook his head once more, turning away from the two on the bed to stare back out the window. "You know what? It's nothing really."

"Liar," Rachel said, setting her mug and bowl down on the stand. "Out with it, then," she continued impatiently, causing Declan to chuckle. "Obviously there's something bothering you, and since Hermione isn't here to help you figure it out, you might as well tell us and let us try to help you."

Harry smiled at her and went to deny her when Declan spoke up, "We may be younger than you lot, but we know a lot more than you give us credit for. We can help you, Harry, but you have to give us the chance to, you know." He smiled then, a very Remus-like smile. "You'd be surprised at how much we _could_ help if you'd only trust us a bit."

Harry laughed. "I used to act just like you, demanding to know everything and thinking I was old enough to handle all that was thrown at me."

"Difference being, we know that you can't do it alone," Declan retorted.

Harry stared at the younger boy for a minute or two before finally nodding. "You're right, that's one lesson that we've all had to learn, though I think we all maintain our bouts of independence."

"Mainly Hermione," Rachel inputted, smiling slightly.

Harry nodded, settling himself down on the bed and pulling Rachel down between him and Declan. "We all think we can save the world." He sighed softly, looking down at his hands for a minute before looking back up at the two. "Alright, you have to promise that what I'm about to tell you will stay between us. I plan on telling Hermione when I find her, but it goes no farther than that."

They both nodded in answer.

"I went looking for Hermione earlier after they told me about Sirius. I didn't believe them and I knew she wouldn't either, so I thought maybe we could… Well, honestly I had no clue what we could do about it, but I wanted to talk to her and see what she thought."

Harry paused, then continued, "Anyway, I couldn't find her but I did run into Falco. He said some rather odd things. He said something about the words spoken and the actions carried out did not correspond, or something like that."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Declan asked, just as confused as Harry.

"I'm not really sure. He told me that I needed to figure it out and then I'd understand." He shrugged, glancing back toward the window. "I think he might be implying something important though."

"Well of course he is," Rachel said quickly, "and I can't believe the two of you haven't figured it out yet." She gazed fully at Harry. "It's quite obvious now that Hermione is the only reason you've made it this far."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry asked, offended.

"I might not have been at the war, but I've learned enough from the Weasley twins to know how to listen at a door properly to hear things the adults don't want you to know."

"Get to the point, Rachel," Harry said, staring at her.

"Well, it's rather obvious, isn't it?" she said, looking from one to the other and only receiving blank looks in return. She sighed in exasperation. "Boys, I swear." She shook her head slightly before turning to look at her brother. "Did you kill Voldemort?"

"He's dead, Rachel," Harry started, only to be interrupted by Rachel.

"You didn't answer my question. Did _you_, Harry, kill Voldemort?"

"Well, no…"

"And what did the prophesy say?" she continued.

"That one of us would have to…," he stopped, his mouth parted in shock.

"Voldemort's not dead," Declan whispered.

**A/N: Not that I don't love the threats, but notice that the story is still under Sirius-Hermione…that's all I'm saying.**

**Much love, **

**MiZZ AmAyA**


	23. Rua tekau ma toru

**DISCLAIMER: Oh, how I wish I could settle away in the English countryside and just write whatever I wanted, but unfortunately, I'm not JK Rowling and my thesis advisor has decided upon my topic… **

**Rua tekau ma toru**

"_Understand?" he bit out harshly. "Of course you don't." Suddenly, he slammed both the glass and the bottle down on the mantle and stalked toward her. He gripped her upper arms tightly and jerked her against him. "You never did."_

_Then, he kissed her._

Hermione was shocked that, for a moment, she merely stood there while Lucius held her against him and kissed her. He pulled back slightly, staring down at her wide eyes and slightly parted mouth for a moment before leaning forward to brush his lips over hers once more. Gathering her senses, she pushed against his chest, turning her head away so that his lips drug along her cheek.

"Lucius, no," she said softly, applying a bit more pressure against his chest.

"Hermione," he whispered, leaning his forehead against hers and gripping her waist firmly. He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. He tilted his head slightly once more, barely skimming his mouth over hers before letting go of her waist and stepping back.

Hermione merely stared at him as he ran his hand through his hair, turning his back on her as he walked over to the mantle. He picked up his glass and raised it, then stopped and placed it back on the mantle. Ignoring his manners, he grabbed the bottle and drank directly from it.

He turned to face her slowly, leaning back against the mantle casually as he observed her. "I refuse to apologize for that," he stated. "I have been wanting to do that for years now. Quite honestly, I should have done it long ago and then maybe we wouldn't have this mess."

"You and I both know that is not true." Hermione crossed her arms as she narrowed her eyes on him. She sighed softly, dropping her arms and walked over to him. Removing the bottle from him, she gripped his hand firmly in her own. "Lucius, maybe if I hadn't met Sirius…," she paused, "well, who knows, right? But I did meet him and I am in love with him. I'm sorry."

"I know," was all he said after a while, looking at a point over her shoulder. He turned his hand so that he was holding hers, giving it a slight squeeze. "Black is not dead, Hermione."

She offered him a small smile. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him tightly. "Thank you, Lucius." She pulled back and brushed her thumb over his cheek, cupping it tenderly. "You are one of my best friends and I will always love you."

"But only as a friend," he said, his voice slightly bitter.

"Yes," she said, brushing his hair away from his face. "I am sorry, Lucius."

"Don't worry about it," he said, brushing her off smoothly. "I understood how it was between us long before today." He smiled suddenly, ruffling her hair slightly. "Now, we have to figure out how to take care of these ridiculous charges that the Ministry is charging you with and how to find Black."

Hermione nodded, considering the situation. She gazed at him for a while. Lucius understood Voldemort better than most; he had been in his service after all. Maybe, just maybe…

"Lucius, I…," she hesitated, chewing on her lower lip nervously as she second guessed herself. She knew she had to trust someone, even Falco told her as much, and Lucius could help her in a way few others could. "I need help," she finally said quickly.

"Of course," he said, his brows furrowed slightly in confusion. "I've already told you that I would help you with the Ministry and finding Black. You know that I will do everything in my power to help you, and I wager Severus would be willing to help as well…"

"No," Hermione interrupted, "not with that stuff." She took a deep breath and squeezed his hands tightly. "I don't think Voldemort is dead."

A pregnant silence stretched between them as Lucius stared at her, his penetrating eyes not displaying any emotion. Finally, he gave a short laugh that quickly died off as he ran a hand through his hair and look at her. "Are you serious? Hermione, we all saw him die."

"No," she countered, "you saw him _fall_, not die."

"There is no way he could have survived that."

Hermione smiled sadly. "I did."

"Yes, but…"

"No buts." She walked over to a small table in the corner, shifting through the books that sat on top and withdrew a couple. She opened them up and pulled out the parchments within. "I've done research, Lucius, a lot of research actually. Lauri and Lily brought over some of my stuff from the past, but I actually don't remember any of it. However, looking through it, I think it's telling me what I already know- that Voldemort is not dead."

"You have to be wrong."

"Why? Why do I have to be wrong?" she asked, almost angrily. She tossed the books down on the couch and rounded on him. "I know it sounds preposterous, and, believe me, the last thing I want to do is worry the wizarding world for nothing, which is why I am asking you for your help."

He didn't say anything for the longest while. Then, "What do you need me to do?"

Hermione smiled in relief. She wrapped her arms securely around his neck and squeezed, whispering, "Thank you," over and over again. She pulled back and grinned, taking his hand and urging him to take the seat beside her on the couch. "We need to kill him."

He smiled. "That's all?"

"Well, we have to do it in a way so that we don't arouse suspicion, of course," she reasoned. "I figure…"

"If you think you're doing this alone, you can think again," a voice suddenly said from the portrait hole. Hermione jumped off the couch to face Harry, Declan, and Rachel.

Lucius rose elegantly from the couch and, in typical Malfoy manner, stared down his nose at them in an aristocratic manner. "Mr. Potter, Mr. Lupin, Miss Potter." He said each of their names with no emotion in his voice, giving a slight nod to each in turn.

Hermione poked his side before stepping around the couch toward them. "Hey guys, what are you doing here?"

"We figured it out, Hermione," Rachel answered. "We know that you think Voldemort isn't dead and we want to help."

"We _are_ going to help," Harry corrected. He crossed the room to stand before her, picking up her hands in his. "Hermione, you can't do this alone."

"She wasn't planning to, Mr. Potter," Lucius spoke up, coming to stand beside them.

Hermione opened her mouth to tell him to be nice, but then thought better of it. She personally thought the addition of 'Mister' was as nice as Lucius was going to get. "Harry…"

"Would you have told me," he interrupted, "had we not figured it out on our own?"

Hermione considered lying, but thought better of it. "Probably not."

"Right," Harry said with a nod. Then, he grinned sheepishly. "At least you didn't lie about it." He hugged her, giving her a swift peck on the cheek as he pulled away. "So what's the plan?"

"We were just getting ready to discuss that actually." Hermione motioned for them to all take a seat. When they were all settled, she started. "Voldemort isn't dead, well, at least I don't believe he is."

Rachel spoke up, "Of course he isn't. After all, the prophecy stated that Harry would have to kill him."

"Miss Potter," Lucius drawled, "perhaps you can refrain…"

"Alright," Hermione interrupted. "You're right, Rachel. Now, the important thing is to figure out what happened to him and how to kill him without anyone finding out."

"That could be a problem," Declan said. "If you guys haven't noticed, our parents have become a little overbearing, particularly where Hermione is concerned. First it was the thing with the Ministry, and now with Sirius supposedly being dead, do you really think we can sneak around without them knowing?"

"Yes," both Hermione and Harry said.

"With Lucius' help," Hermione continued, "it should be remarkably easy."

"How?" Rachel inquired.

"It's quite simple, Miss Potter," Lucius started. "We will use the pretence of class work to pass information amongst each other. When I cannot work as your informant, Hermione will devise someway to pass a message amongst yourselves to meet somewhere, perhaps here, and Hermione will then pass the information on to me."

Hermione smiled at him. It was quite brilliant really, and could actually work. "I know, we'll use coins like we did in our fifth year, Harry."

"Brilliant." Harry sat forward eagerly. "We could also try parchment to pass messages, you know like the map. We can enchant it somehow."

Hermione glanced over at Lucius while she considered this possibility. "Maybe," she said, tapping her chin lightly with her finger. "It would have to be some pretty strong spells, though, just so no one can stumble across it."

"Label it with something concerning Severus' class," Lucius remarked casually. "I'm sure no one would touch it then."

The four students stared at him for a moment before laughing. Hermione grabbed a spare piece of parchment and a quill and started jotting down some notes. She muttered something under her breath and scratched out an entire line.

"Hermione," Harry said, catching her attention once more, "how are we going to find and kill Voldemort."

"That, I still haven't figured out." She caught her lower lip between her teeth and chewed on it slightly. Her eyes sparkled as something suddenly occurred to her, but she closed her mouth quickly when she went to blurt it out. "I think I have a way, but I need to discuss it with someone first."

"You need to trust us, Hermione," Harry said, levelling her with a piercing stare.

"I do, Harry, but I need more information on the matter first. It's just something I remember, something slight, but it may be something…"

Lucius caught her eye, a question lingering in their icy depths, but Hermione looked away. Lucius was too observant at times and she didn't want to disclose anything until she was absolutely sure.

"And Sirius?" Rachel asked softly, looking from one to another.

Hermione stiffened slightly in her seat. "He's not dead, that I know for sure."

"I think we need to fight the Ministry but discreetly," Declan spoke up. "From what I heard, they know a little more than they're letting on. Plus we need to find a loophole in the charges they have against Hermione."

"I think I might be able to figure something out on that front," Lucius said. "Leave that to me."

They all nodded. "Okay, until I get the coins ready, we'll just have to use word of mouth," Hermione said. "When I figure something out, we'll meet again." She glanced over at Lucius. "I'll tell you when."

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTnEeDsToWoRkOnHeRtHeSiS**

It was two days later that Hermione actually found a spare moment to sit down and think about her plan. She was able to sneak away from everyone and take refuge in her old rooms once more, this time instructing Falco to let no one in.

She settled down with the box that Lily and Lauri had brought to her and dumped everything out on the floor. She shoved some of the parchments to the side and dug through everything else until she found the dried up plant.

A memory flashed through her mind…

_Hermione rubbed her eyes, desperately trying to stay awake. She was on her seventh cup of coffee, though she honestly detested the stuff. However, she genuinely needed the caffeine fix at the moment._

"_Oh, Caradoc, what did you do?" she muttered as she sniffed through the pieces of parchment once more._

_She wrote down the figures for what seemed like the hundredth time. She knew they weren't right, that much she had figured out weeks ago. She just needed to figure out what that particular combination would cause._

_She stopped, her quill hovering just about the parchment. In her head, she was recalling Snape's words back during her fifth year when he was lecturing on the improper use of certain ingredients and the effects they could cause._

Hermione stared down at the plant in her hand, twirling it round and round while she thought about the past. Dumbledore had told her little of the mission he had sent Caradoc on. She did remember, though, what little she had uncovered.

"This is it," she whispered softly to herself, touching one of the dried leaves with her forefinger. She smiled to herself, glancing at the pieces of parchment with numbers and formulas on it.

She jumped up quickly, gathering up the sheets of parchment as she went and walked quickly over to the desk. She scattered everything across it so that she could see everything written there.

She rummaged through her bag that she had tossed in the corner earlier when she came in to find a quill and an ink bottle. She then found the right book and flipped through it until she found what she was looking for.

"Yes," she whispered, smiling brightly. She jotted down some notes quickly across one of the spare sheets of parchment. She extended some of the formulas, fixing them until the calculations were perfect. She could see where it had been blundered before, but now… now it should work.

She picked up all her notes and her bag. Slinging the strap up on her shoulder, she moved quickly to the portrait hole. She had just shut it when she heard Falco calling her name, but she ignored him while she continued on down the hall, going over all the formulas in her mind again and again.

She journeyed quickly down the stairs, brushing past the groups of students mingling about. She manoeuvred easily through the corridors until she reached the portrait of an aristocratic man sitting in front of a blazing fire with a glass of wine in his hand.

Hermione smiled at him and knocked on the frame, bouncing slightly on her heels as she waited for the room's occupant to answer. Finally, the portrait swung outward and Lucius was staring down at her, his eyes slightly bemused.

"Hermione?"

She thrust the parchment out to him, a wide smile on her face. "I figured it out."

He took the parchment, staring at her in bemusement as he glanced over the figures on the page. He arched a brow in that aristocratic manner of his and purred, "Arithmancy?"

"No," she said eagerly, stepping up beside him and jabbing the parchment with her finger. "This is how we're going to do it." She turned to smile up at him. "I have figured out how to kill Voldemort."

**A/N: So...I just wanted to share the fact that I just sent the last "actual" chapter of the story off to my beta. I'm trying to decide whether I want to attach an epilogue or not... So..the story is officially finished on my end. Thanks for all the lovely threats again! I love you guys too. Oh... and be sure to be on the lookout for my oneshot, HAUNTED, that should be going up soon as well as my short fic, WHEN THE MOON HOWLS, that will be coming soon.**

**Much love,**

**MiZZ AmAyA**


	24. Rua tekau ma wha

**DISCLAIMER: Once more, I must admit to myself that no matter how much I pretend, I'm not JK Rowling and therefore do not own Harry Potter**

**NOTE: I can't believe I keep forgetting this...but I want to thank my wonderful beta, MoonyNZ, for all the wonderful work she is doing on these chapters. And, the story is 30 chapters long now...**

**Rua tekau ma wha**

Hermione walked back to her room with a basket full of necessary ingredients for the potion she was planning on brewing- well, the ingredients that Professor Snape had in his store at least. Honestly, it was quite refreshing to be able to go right up to him and ask for the supplies rather than steal them.

Well, refreshing to have _Lucius_ ask him for them than have her steal them.

She could probably start on the potion, she wagered, now if she could just figure out how to slip out of the country without the Ministry knowing, enabling her to retrieve some of the final ingredients within the next two weeks. She would have to speak with Lucius and Professor Snape about that. She couldn't ask them to risk themselves to recover it for her.

She glanced up and down the corridor out of habit and gave a smiling Falco the password. She tucked the ingredients away underneath a cupboard and covered them up. She tucked the few pieces of parchment she had scribbled on in the cupboard as well.

Finding the key, she locked the door and stood. She waved her wand and created a small strip of spellotape. She then hid the key underneath one of the stands in the corner, placing a charm on it so that no one could locate it. She knew she was probably being paranoid, but she also thought it was probably better to be safe than sorry.

She picked up her bag off the couch where she had left it earlier when she first went to Lucius to ask, or perhaps beg, him to go ask Professor Snape for the ingredients. She needed to head to the library now for a few hours to finish the Potions essay Snape had assigned before dinner. Harry had decided that he would personally hunt her down and drag her to meals if she did not willingly come on her own accord.

She walked down the corridors, smiling at some of the passing students. She spotted Declan as soon as she entered the library. He had an odd expression on his face as he stared down at something in his hands.

Hermione manoeuvred so that she ended up coming up behind him. She laughed when she saw that he was holding a picture of himself and Rachel taken at the end of the summer. Declan spun around quickly, slamming the picture shut in his book.

"Hermione," he said, standing and smiling awkwardly.

"Hello Declan," she returned, smiling as she settled into the seat beside where he had previously been sitting. "Studying?" she inquired politely.

"Oh, yeah." He slowly lowered himself back down in the seat. He pulled a couple of the books toward him, making sure to put the one with the picture in it at the bottom of the pile. "Just some early preparation for exams, you know?" He gave a nervous chuckle.

Hermione gazed at him with a knowing smirk. "Right," she said slowly, opening her bag and pulling out some books. She opened two of them, flipping them to corresponding pages on the potion and its effects that Professor Snape had wanted them to work on.

After reading a couple of paragraphs, Hermione was aware of Declan's gaze still on her. She smiled at him and pushed his books toward him. He shook his head and opened the book quickly, raising it up to hide his face.

Hermione chuckled softly and went back to reading. She pulled out a roll of parchment from her bag and started writing her essay, making sure it was perfect. She left the table once to grab a couple more reference books from the shelves before returning to the table once more and diving into the essay.

It was Declan that finally reminded her that it was almost dinnertime. She gathered up all of her stuff, smiling at Declan who was waiting patiently for her. They walked down the hallway, talking amicably about various classes. She noticed, with amusement, how he avoided any mention of Rachel.

When they entered the Great Hall, Hermione walked in front of him to take her seat beside Harry. Declan, meanwhile, walked to the other side of the table and hesitated briefly before taking his seat beside Rachel. Harry and Hermione were the only two that noticed the pause, the latter smirking victoriously at the former.

Hermione leaned over toward Harry and whispered in his ear, "He was staring at her picture in the library when I walked in."

Harry blinked, glancing between the two with a narrowed gaze. He whispered back, "That doesn't mean anything." He stabbed a potato on his plate.

Hermione smiled, watching the two across from them talk. She grinned at Harry. "Oh, I think it does. Looks like we'll need to be getting you some suits for the library conference."

Harry glared at her and started eating quickly- something he always did when he was irritated. Hermione merely smiled pleasantly at him and started filling her plate. She plopped a carrot into her mouth, almost laughing at the expression on Harry's face as he watched Declan and Rachel converse.

She finished up with her meal and turned on the bench toward Harry. "I'm going to head to Lucius' rooms," she said nonchalantly, picking her bag up off the floor.

"Did you find out something?"

Hermione hesitated. She had yet to tell anyone but Lucius about the potion that she believed could kill Voldemort. She had a hard enough time convincing Lucius that it would work, she didn't want to go through that with Harry too. "Not yet," she lied, "but we're working on it."

Harry stared at her long and hard. He knew that she wasn't telling him something, but he knew Hermione well enough to know that she probably had a good reason for not telling him. He hugged her impulsively, whispering in her ear, "I'm here for you whenever you need me."

She kissed him on the cheek. "I know, Harry. I love you." She stood and gave a small nod to Lucius. She waited until he rose from his seat before turning and walking out of the Great Hall.

She met him outside of the door to his private rooms. She smiled and entered ahead of him while he held the portrait open. She settled down into one of the chairs, kicking her shoes off to get comfortable.

"Tea?" he inquired politely. Then, he smirked, "Or perhaps something a bit stronger?"

"I'm actually alright, thanks."

He nodded and took a seat in his armchair. He had a glass of wine in his hand and a book in the other. When she gave the book a significant glance, he said, "I was looking over your notes and noticed that some of the ingredients you require are quite hard to come by and were not in Severus' stores."

She nodded. "I know that. I started researching about some of them and I think I know where I can find some of them…"

"We, Hermione," he interrupted. "Where _we_ can find them."

She waved her hand impatiently. "Yes, yes, where we can find them. The only problem is that we'll have to find a way to get around the Ministry. I'm not allowed to leave the school besides to go to Hogsmeade without their permission at the moment."

"That is a problem," he started, but suddenly stopped and grinned. "Actually, I don't think it will be a problem after all."

"How do you figure that?"

"Well, you're not allowed to leave Hogwarts, and _you_ won't."

She groaned in frustrated. "I cannot allow you to go by yourself to retrieve ingredients. The last time someone went, he died, if you don't remember."

"I won't be going alone, though." Giving her a small salute with his glass, he drank the liquid inside languidly while she merely stared at him, confused.

"I don't…"

"Understand? Of course you don't." He smiled at that, leaning forward in his chair toward her. "You see, Hermione, they would not allow you to go, but they could not restrict Mr. Potter or perhaps someone else from going, could they?"

She didn't say anything for a moment, and then, "I can't ask Harry to go. I haven't even told him about the potion."

"He won't be going though, you will be."

"You're not making any sense," she stated angrily.

"Think, Hermione." He handed her his glass which she took a drink from. "How could you possibly go, and yet still be here at the same time?"

She started to say, "I can't," before suddenly remembering something. "Of course, Polyjuice Potion." She laughed. "It's brilliant really, but who could I get to be me for a day or two without having to tell them much?"

"Perhaps young Miss Potter would be willing?"

Hermione shook her head. "No, if we happened to be gone for more than a weekend, people would begin to wonder. We can't risk raising suspicions."

Hermione tapped her chin. "I think I know someone… but I shall have to check. I'll come to you as soon as I know for sure. Hopefully we can slip out this weekend."

"You have three days then," Lucius reminded her.

"I know," she said as she stood and held his glass out to him. "If not, well, we'll have to run quick because I have no intention of not going to get the stuff we need."

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTcAnNoTtHiNkOfAnYtHiNgWiTtYtOsAy**

That night, Hermione slipped up to the owlery. She pulled the hood of her cloak down low over her face. Again, she knew she was probably being paranoid, but she figured it was better to be safe than sorry. The Ministry was paying too much attention to her lately and she didn't want her letter to be read.

Hedwig swooped down from the rafters when she called to her softly, sitting on one of window sills as she stared at Hermione.

"I've got something for you to deliver girl," Hermione said softly, careful to keep her voice down. "But I need you to be clever about it. Do you think you can get it to someone without anyone intercepting it?"

Hedwig hooted almost indignantly and stuck out her leg. Hermione smiled and tied the letter securely there. She lightly scratched the snow owl on the head.

"Be swift, Hedwig, and don't let anyone see you."

Hermione watched the owl swoop out the window and up toward the sky. She stood there until Hedwig became merely a speck on the horizon. Sighing, she turned, pulling her hood still lower over her face, and walked out of the owlery.

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTwAnTsAnAlPaCa**

The letter came just as Hermione was rising. She jumped from her bed as soon as she heard the insistent pecking on her window. She brushed her wayward hair away from her face impatiently and fought with the window until she was finally able to get it open enough for the owl to come through.

She was slightly disappointed to see a regular brown owl instead of Hedwig, but remembered that she hadn't told Hedwig to wait for a reply. Perhaps she had already came back and another owl had to be found to return the letter.

She untied the letter from the owl's leg and then watched as it swooped out the window just as quickly. She frowned slightly, watching it disappear just as she had watched Hedwig the night before.

She glanced down at the sealed letter in her hand and walked back to her bed. Settling down, she folded her legs up and pulled the covers up over her lap. She snuggled back against the pillows and broke the seal.

_Miss Granger,_

_Following the previous letters sent to your person detailing the charges being levelled against you, the Ministry has decided to hold the trial on the twenty-seventh day of December at ten in the morning. _

_You should report directly to the third level to Ministry Official Michael Campton. He will officially read the charges being brought against you. He will then personally escort you to the trial chamber._

_Please note that during this time you are not allowed to leave Hogwarts without written permission from the Ministry and an Auror guard. If you break either of these rules, you will automatically be placed in Ministry custody and will be charged accordingly._

_Marcia Tambleson_

_Deputy Undersecretary _

_Magical Law Enforcement Department_

Hermione folded the letter back up with a scowl. She was really starting to loathe the Ministry. She took out her wand and lit the letter on fire, watching as the flames curled up around the letter while it floated in the air in front of her.

She growled suddenly, kicking the covers away from her and stood from the bed. She didn't even bother changing out of her pajamas and headed out of her dorm. She didn't really have a particular destination in mind; she just needed someone to talk to.

She took different secret passages through the castle. She had just emerged from one of the tapestries when she ran into someone. She was still simmering with anger and almost lashed out at the person until she looked up into the eyes of Professor Snape.

He opened his mouth to say something harsh to her, she was sure, but gazed at her for a minute and then closed it again. It was only when he wrapped his arm around her awkwardly in a one-armed hug did she realize she was near tears.

He tried to comfort her, but his attempt was almost laughable. Hermione couldn't help but smile, though she made sure he couldn't see by leaning her forehead against his chest. He did, however, feel her start to shake as she couldn't hold back the laughter anymore.

He pulled back sharply, straightening his robes with a hard tug. She bit her lip to try to keep from smiling, but found the effort useless.

"I'm sorry, Sever…er, Professor Snape," she said, smiling up at him sweetly. "Thank you for trying to…um, comfort me."

He scowled. "Perhaps, Miss Granger, you should just tell me what put you in such a state."

The smile fell from her face almost instantly as she remembered the letter. Snape cocked his head slightly to one side and studied her.

"That bad?"

"The Ministry," she answered grimly. She sighed and leaned back against the wall, raising her hand to rest against her forehead.

Snape continued to stare at her for a few minutes before saying, "Come along."

She followed him curiously as they wound their way through the corridors. She noticed after a bit that they were heading toward the dungeons. He led her through his classroom and into his private offices, directing her toward one of the empty chairs.

She settled while he poured them a couple of drinks without even inquiring whether she would like one or not. Nevertheless, she took the glass from his outstretched hand and downed the biting liquid. She grimaced slightly at the burn, choking a bit.

"What was that?"

Snape grinned, knocking back his own easily. "My own mix. Better than firewhisky or any of that weak muggle stuff you can purchase."

"True," she said with a small shrug, holding her empty glass out to him. He quirked an eyebrow, but filled the glass back up once more.

He didn't question her about her mood, didn't pester her with endless questions. He merely sat there staring at her in silence. After three drinks, she couldn't take it anymore.

"I got a letter from the Ministry this morning," she offered, not turning her gaze away from him. "My trial date has been set and it seems like they are positive that I will be found guilty."

He filled his glass up and drained it quickly. "That, Hermione, is something I'm sure your friends are not going to allow to happen."

"I know," she said quietly. She looked down at her hands before looking back up at him. "I was planning on leaving this weekend with Lucius to retrieve some vital potion ingredients."

"And?"

"Well, of course with the charges against me, I'm not supposed to leave Hogwarts with Ministry permission and an Auror guard. However, this trip is very important and I can't risk asking the Ministry for permission."

"What do you want of me?" he asked suddenly, understanding that she was refraining from asking something.

She looked up and smiled at him, almost mischievously as she said, "I need Polyjuice Potion, and a lot of it."

**A/N: Um...nothing to say here. Thanks for reading?**

**Much love,**

**MiZZ AmAyA**


	25. Rua tekau ma rima

**DISCLAIMER: I decided to take JK's characters out for a stroll... Don't own anything that you recognize**

**Thanks again to my wonderful beta MoonyNZ!!**

**Rua tekau ma rima**

Hermione paced nervously back and forth in front of the portrait of Gordian the Brave. She still had five minutes before she was supposed to meet them here, but that was still enough time for something to go wrong.

"Stop pacing," a voice said from her right.

Hermione turned to offer Lucius a nervous smile. "Sorry." She turned away from him and looked out one of the windows, whispering softly to herself. She heard Lucius walk right up beside her, his hand coming to rest on the small of her back.

"It's going to be alright, Hermione," he whispered in her ear. "This plan, it's perfect. It's a simple mission, really." He pulled her away from the window. "Stop worrying."

"I always worry," she replied briskly.

"So who is this contact you have?" he asked, sitting on the window ledge. He glanced down the hallway quickly before turning back to look at her. "I don't think we should just be trusting anyone, especially during times like these."

"She's the only one I know that could help us," Hermione answered, starting to pace once more. "And you know her. She went to school with us actually. It's Ashley DeGroot."

Lucius furrowed his brows, seemingly trying to recall the name and yet being unable to place it. "DeGroot…DeGroot," he repeated softly to himself over and over again. "The name sounds familiar but I don't remember who she is."

"Of course you wouldn't," Hermione brushed off impatiently, starting to tap her foot as she watched for the others. "She didn't exactly mingle with your group of friends."

He smirked then, that casual Malfoy smirk that put so many on edge, wondering what was coming next. "Not many dared to." His voice was low as he made that comment, almost as if he was trying to scare her.

She snorted in a very unladylike manner. "Yeah, that had to be it," she drawled sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, while I was working for the Ministry, I ended up Bhutan somehow. Ashley was there working as a liaison from England doing some charm work at a Curse Breaker camp."

"And?"

"Apparently she ended up taking a permanent position there," Hermione finished, shrugging lightly. She settled down onto the window seat beside him. "From the research I've done and what I've read about Caradoc's research, we should find the jaundow plant somewhere near there. Ashley has agreed to give help us."

"Can we trust her though?"

Hermione stared straight ahead for a moment before turning her head up to look at him. "Do we have a choice?" she returned softly.

He was about to respond when they both heard someone coming toward them. Hermione looked up to see Snape bearing down on them, carrying a basket of potions with him. He was scowling a bit. He had been uneasy with the plan when she had first told him about it. It appeared that his feelings hadn't changed.

He thrust the basket out to Lucius who merely took it with that damn smirk of his. Hermione smiled pleasantly, causing Snape to scowl even more. He took a large flask from the basket, holding it out to her.

"The flask contains enough Polyjuice potion to tide for over three days, but no more. I will deny any connection if you lot are caught."

"I knew you cared," Hermione teased, taking the flask before he could pull it away.

Lucius pulled his pocket watch out and looked at the time. He frowned before sliding it back into his pocket. "She's late," he stated, crossing his arms.

"Patience," Hermione chided, poking his shoulder lightly.

"You were the one pacing earlier," he reminded, frowning at her.

She rolled her eyes and turned toward Snape. "Sure you don't want to go with us?"

"Positive," he drawled easily, and then smirked. "Besides, who would keep _you_ in detention if I were not here?"

"And just remember," another voice added, "I won't always be the student." They turned to see Lily walking toward them. She stopped and turned toward Snape, her hands on her hips. "I'll help you stock your potion supplies."

"You may not be," he said, that impious smirk still plastered on his face, "but _Hermione _is."

"Children," Lucius scolded. He stood and straightened his robes. "We need to hurry this along before some unfortunate student wanders this way." He took the flask from Hermione and held out his hand for a couple strands of her hair. He added it to the mixture and then handed it to Lily. "Bottoms up," he told her.

Lily wrinkled up her nose but took a sip. It only took a few moments for her features to change into that of Hermione's. She smiled, then, and turned to Severus. "That is nasty."

"Of course it is," he scoffed, "now hurry and get her changed."

Lucius withdrew his wand, considering Hermione for a minute. Smirking slightly, he whispered a few incantations and flicked his wand. Hermione's hair grew considerably shorter and shades darker. It fell straight now to her shoulders, while her eyes turned to a light blue colour.

Nodding in satisfaction, Lucius conjured a mirror so she could view the glamour charms he had placed upon her. She nodded in satisfaction. "That'll do," she said, frowning slightly as she noticed the slight change to her voice.

"Voices can be recognized," he answered her unasked question simply.

Hermione shrugged before turning to Lily. "No spying on your children," she told the older woman. "We shouldn't be longer than three days. It probably won't even take us that long actually, but just in case," she withdrew a coin and handed it to her. "I'll send you a message if anything happens."

Lily took the coin and gripped it tightly in her fist. She smiled at the younger girl, her now brown eyes softening as she wrapped her arms around Hermione. "Take care, Hermione," she whispered.

Hermione pulled away from her slowly. She turned to Lucius and allowed him to guide her down the corridor. When they reached then in, she glanced back to see Lily and Severus still looking after them.

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTlOvEsApPlEsAuCe**

A bead of sweat trickled down between her breasts, the hot sun blaring unmercifully overhead. Hermione pulled her light cotton shirt away from her skin with a huff of irritation. Today was their first actual day of searching and already she longed for the nice rainy days back home.

Lucius, in front of her, looked completely at home in the heat and the breezy cotton outfit Ashley had provided him with the night before when they had first arrived. The outfit suited him amazingly well. Hermione felt a little twang of irritation that anything Lucius donned suited him.

She shielded her eyes as she glanced out in front of them. They had decided to start more toward the Indian border and work their way back toward the central part of Bhutan. Her research showed that plant should be somewhere near.

Lucius turned back to look at her. His steely eyes assessed her for a minute before he settled down onto one of the larger rocks in the area. Patting the space beside him, he said, "Let's rest for a little bit."

Hermione willingly complied, fanning herself as she settled down beside him. He dug around in his pack for the canteen and offered it to her. She took a couple of sips of water while her eyes surveyed the horizon. The mountains were off in the distance; the temperature would be considerably cooler once they were amongst them.

Lucius started to poke at one of the plants with a stick, surveying it with interest when a thick gel oozed from the top of the stem. Hermione cast a casual glance his way, pausing as she caught sight of the plant. In sudden realization, Hermione slapped his hand away, causing him to drop the stick.

"What was that for?" he demanded.

"Don't you realize what that is?" She stood, pulling him up beside her. She turned all the way around, her eyes on the ground. "We've got to get out of here," she told him, picking his pack up from the ground and handing it to him, "and quickly."

"What is wrong with you?" His voice was a tad bit agitated, which may have had something to do with the fact that Hermione was now pulling him along behind her as she hurried down the slope. "Hermione!"

She paused long enough to glance behind him at the ground. "Come on," she urged, grasping his hand tightly in her own. Her other hand went to her leg where her wand was strapped. "We need to get to that copse of trees down there."

She heard Lucius curse under his breath and understood. The copse was a good distance away and she knew they were both tired. Instead of slowing down, she tightened her grip and sped up to a light jog.

When they were finally encased in the safety of the tree's shadows, Hermione stopped, her eyes once more turning back whence they came. Her torso fell forward as she panted, her hands gripping her knees firmly.

"What the bloody hell is wrong with you?" Lucius raved, his breathing slightly laboured.

"You," she bit out angrily, her finger stabbing his chest. "You almost got us killed, you bloody git! Would have served you right if I had just left you back there."

"It was just a plant."

"It was not just a plant," she ground out, clenching her jaw angrily. "I knew I should have brought Severus," she muttered to herself. "He wouldn't have been so stupid."

Lucius' hand shot out and gripped her arm with a growl. She turned quickly and punched his chest, shocking him enough that he let go of her. His narrowed eyes met her glare, neither of them moving.

"Don't touch anything," she hissed finally. "That little plant back there is filled with a poisonous substance that gives nutrition to the noor beetle. And, since I doubt you even know what they are, they could kill us in about ten different ways and very quickly too. You disturb their food supply, they know."

"Doesn't mean they would have killed us," he said, a bit petulantly.

"Oh yes, they would have," she grumbled. "They're very territorial and, oh, did I mention that they also have another food source?" She stood akimbo and glared at him. "Blood. Human blood, actually."

"Okay, so it may have not been the best decision to play with the plant." At her loud snort, he rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry, alright, but it's not like I see them all the time."

She turned from him as she settled down on the ground. "Just don't touch anything else unless you know what it is." She opened her pack and withdrew a small pack of bread. Handing him a piece, she took one for herself and bit into it. She turned to look around them, surveying the landscape.

"I think our best bet is going to be in the mountains," Hermione told him, gesturing toward the high peaks. "And, I propose that we set up camp here and stay the night instead of apparating back to Ashley's. If we just show up at night and leave in the morning, we'd draw too much attention to ourselves."

He went to lean against one of the trees and then must have thought better of it for he walked over and settled next to her. "Here? Or do you want to try to make it on to the mountains?" He glanced out toward them. "We might be able to make it there before nightfall."

"But not in time to set up adequate shelter before we become the night meal of one of the creatures that live within them," she rationalized. "We should be safe here."

They continued to eat in silence, every so often exchanging the canteen to allow the other to take a drink. Hermione refilled the canteen with water once before they both stood and started to plan an adequate shelter.

Hermione was walking through the coppice looking for long sturdy branches when she saw the small cave. "Lucius!" She squatted down slightly behind a tree, watching the crevice closely to see if anything was within.

Twigs cracking behind her signalled the arrival of Lucius behind her. She motioned for him to come closer, and then took her wand from its holster. "Think anything is in there?" she asked, turning to glance at him quickly.

"Doesn't look like it." A frown marred his brow, his hand now clutching his own wand. "But looks can be deceiving. Stay behind me."

He stood, taking hold of her elbow to help her stand. He walked cautiously toward the cave's entrance, his eyes alert for anything coming toward them. They were about fifty meters out when he paused. Turning his head left and right, he frowned.

"Do you feel that?"

Hermione frowned and then closed her eyes, concentrating on the surroundings. Her eyes snapped open and flew to meet his. "Magic?"

He nodded. "It's all over the place and it seems to be centring around the cave."

He picked a small stone up from the ground and tossed it toward the cave. Hermione could tell the minute it hit the magical barrier. There was a crackle and a popping sound, magical tendrils sweeping out and toward them.

"Think that sent a message to anyone?" she inquired, putting a faux pleasant note in her voice.

"Let's hope not." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. "If it did, they're sure to come in numbers. We're good, but we have our limits."

She grinned at that and adjusted the pack on her back. "Well, let's test the place for wards and then set up home for the night."

It took them thirty minutes to remove all the wards from around the cave. They were old, though, so that gave them both hope that no one would be arriving to see who disturbed the place.

Lucius decided to play gallant and instructed her to get behind him. She rolled her eyes at that, but let him lead the way in nevertheless. He lit his wand and walked into the cave cautiously. What they found, startled them both.

Hermione let out a low whistled as she looked around the vast space. Holding her lighted wand out, she stepped around a startled Lucius to get a better look around.

"Well, won't be hard to play house in here," she commented with a smile.

"No kidding."

He went over to the small fire pit near the centre of the cave and used a few of the logs lying there to start a fire. It was slightly cooler in the cave and he knew that the temperature would drop considerably during the night.

Meanwhile, Hermione removed her pack and set it down on the cot that sat along one of the walls. "I'm going to put up some wards so we'll be protected tonight," she told him before walking back toward the entrance. She placed a number of spells on the cave, ensuring that they would be alerted should anything or anyone come near the cave.

When she walked back into the cave, Lucius was flipping through a small book. He paused at one of the pages. His eyes met hers and he held the book out to her.

She took the book from his hand and glanced down at the page. A number of illustrations were drawn there along with some notes. In the very bottom corner was a drawing of a small plant. "Lucius," she said slowly, "this is…"

"The jaundow plant," he finished.

She flipped quickly through the book, scanning over the notes and drawings in it. When she reached the end, she stopped. "Lucius, this was Caradoc's." She looked up to smile at him. "We're close, Lucius. Caradoc was here."

**A/N: Um..in case you don't remember, in Changing Yesterday, Caradoc was a professor but he also went on a mission for Dumbledore...yada yada. As always, thanks for reading!**

**MiZZ AmAyA**


	26. Rua tekau ma ono

**DISCLAIMER: I solemnly swear that I do not own Harry Potter...**

**Thanks to MoonyNZ for being a wonderful beta!!!**

**Rua tekau ma ono **

When Hermione woke, she snuggled back into the person behind her, enjoying the warmth the other body provided. When she shifted, the arm around her waist tightened slightly, pulling her closer.

Last night, after studying the journals until they had dissected every bit of information within, they had decided to share the single cot. After all, Hermione had voiced that no matter how many cushioning spells they placed on the floor, rock was still rock. Lucius, of course, hadn't argued, but seemed rather pleased at the outcome.

She had slapped his hand a few times during the night, but other than that he had behaved reasonably well. However, at the moment, Hermione had to admit that she was quite comfortable where she was.

She stopped that train of thought before it could even get started and tried to get up. If anything, her squirming only caused him to tighten his grip on her, pulling her back firmly against his body. She froze, a frown marring her features as she felt his arousal behind her.

"Lucius," she bit out loudly, "I swear to Merlin that if you don't release me this instant, I'm going to demonstrate how proficient I am at the severing charm."

He quickly released her. In fact, he actually pushed her away and out of the cot onto the hard floor. "You didn't have to do that," she said angrily.

He merely smirked and rose from the cot gracefully, every strand of his blond hair in place. He looked as if he had spent hours getting ready, instead of actually just rising from bed. Her own hair was slightly crimped from sleeping on it. Despite the straight hair Lucius had given her for the glamour, her curly hair attempted to rebel.

"I hate you," she hissed, while trying to flatten her own hair.

"No you don't," he replied easily, grabbing her hands and pulling them away from her hair as he urged her to stand. He took out his wand and flicked it. She felt her hair straighten out and then braid itself. "There, straight once more."

Rolling her eyes, Hermione turned from him and snatched up her back. She found some of the dried meat she had brought and opened the pack. She passed a couple pieces to Lucius who handed her a piece of bread in return. Hermione picked up one of the notebooks and flipped through it while they ate, enjoying the peaceful silence.

She heard Lucius stand, but continued to eat and read. She started to ask him something, but he bent down just as quickly and covered her mouth. When she gave him a look that clearly said that she thought him crazy, he whispered, "Do you hear that?"

Indeed, there was a slight hum coming from the back of the cave. Hermione removed his hand from her mouth and stood, walking toward the back wall. Her hands drifted over the slick stones until she found a small crevice. It split wider the closer it got to the floor and the hum seemed to be coming from within it.

"Here," she said, and then before he could stop her, she carefully slid herself through the crevice. She chuckled softly when she heard him cursing and hurrying to follow her. She removed her wand from its holster and lit it, keeping herself close to the ground to fit through the small hole.

Lucius lightly touched her leg to let her know he was there. She reached back and gave his hand a quick squeeze. She started to crawl again, thankful that the whole was starting to get bigger the farther back they got.

When it was big enough, Lucius quickly pulled himself up beside her. They moved together through the rocks, their lighted wands held out in front of them. The hum started turning into a roar now, echoing loudly through the small space.

"I think we're getting closer," she said, glad that the space was opening up enough so that they could now stand, though they had to crouch slightly. "Is it just me or is it getting colder in here?"

"It is," he answered. "It looks like we're sloping downward."

"We're headed further underground?"

He nodded, reaching out to grab her elbow when she stumbled. "Looks like it. Could be an underground cave system of some sort." He whispered a spell and the light from his wand formed a small ball, drifting ahead of them to illuminate the path. "Good news is that I think we're near the end."

She tilted her head slightly to the side and listened closely to the roar. The corners of her mouth turned down as she crouched, touching the rocks. They were damp. "It's water," she said softly. "Lucius, there's water up ahead."

"Makes sense. Around the mountains, there's bound to be an underground water source from runoff." He held her elbow once more and walked cautiously forward. "Watch your step."

They continue on down the path, watching their step and listening as the sound of rushing water came closer. There was a light off in the distance, a bluish tint to it. Hermione stopped, her hand reaching out to grab hold of Lucius. "Is that what I think it is?"

"A waterfall," he whispered. "How is there a waterfall underground?"

"A runoff," she answered, then started toward it. "Come on!"

The cave opened up into a large hole, the opening blocked off by a streaming wall of water. Hermione stepped over to the side and peered down to where the water hit the bottom about three meters down.

She turned to smile at Lucius. "Fancy a swim?"

"You are not jumping," he stated, grabbing her arm and pulling her back. "We have no clue how deep that is at the bottom. You could kill yourself."

"I know that." She jerked her arm from his grasp. "I was going to suggest climbing down the ledge over there. There's a little walkway."

He stared at her for a moment before walking over to where she had previously been standing. He looked out and saw that there was indeed a walkway. He put one foot out onto the ledge, testing it. "Not too slick."

"Just go," she said, giving him a little poke to the back. He grumbled but slid out of the cave and onto the ledge, keeping his back against the wall as she started down the incline. Hermione strapped her wand back in her holster and followed.

They made it easily clear down to the bottom. Lucius stepped form the ledge and onto one of the larger boulders. Turning, he extended his hand to Hermione and helped her down. Bending beside the water's edge, he cupped some in his palm and tasted it.

"It's fresh water, good too," he told her. When she didn't reply, he turned quickly to find her gazing open mouth behind him. "Hermione?"

"The plant, Lucius," she cried, pointing about seven meters up on the rock wall behind him. A series of jaundow plants grew out of the rocks, the silver flowers glowing faintly. Black streaks ran down the centre of each dark green leaf with spiny black veins weaving off them.

"How are we going to get up there," he inquired.

Hermione merely offered him a smirk as she walked down beside him. "Are you a wizard or not? Just levitate me up there."

Flicking his wand, Lucius let the spell roll off his tongue. When nothing happened, he tried it again, and again, and again. He turned and tried some simple spells, but still he wasn't able to do anything.

"Stop." She shrugged off her pack and let it fall to the ground. "Magic must not work in here, which of course would be an obvious twist on things since the jaundow plant is the main ingredient in removing magic."

"What do you propose we do now?"

She looked down at the flowing stream that ran between them and the plant. Carefully, she stepped on one of the rocks and then another, until she was able to jump the rest of the distance across. "I'm going to climb," she told him once she was safely on the other side. "There seems to be some handholds available so it shouldn't be too hard."

"You're going to kill yourself," he growled.

"Maybe," she replied, "but there's no way you'd be able to climb this wall and you know it." She turned her head round to give him a quick grin. "Don't worry. On one of our vacations, Dad and I went rock climbing a bit."

"A bit? And that's supposed to make me feel confident in your abilities to scale a wall?"

"Nope," she answered with a shrug. Serious, she turned and looked at him. "If something happens to me, Lucius, get the plant to Severus. Falco will tell you where I left the directions for the potion. Promise me, Lucius, that you'll do this."

"Hermione…"

"Promise me."

They stared at each other, neither budging. Finally, Lucius grudgingly nodded his head with a brisk, "I promise." Hermione returned his nod and then grabbed hold of some rocks. Pulling herself up, she sought out some footholds before repeating the motion over and over.

Lucius paced down below her, unable to stand still while she slowly and carefully made her way up the rock wall. When her foot slipped once about halfway up, he was about to demand that she come down, but knew that she had to do this. And so he stood there, watching as she climbed.

After what seemed like forever, she made it to one of the lower plants. She pulled herself a little higher up so that it would be even with her chest. Removing a knife from her pocket, she cut near the base of the plant where it connected with the rocks, attempting to get the flowers, stem, and leaves all that once.

"Be careful," he called when she almost slipped again while trying to cut the plant.

"It's supposed to be dangerous, Lucius," she ground out, still carefully working on the plant. "If it was easy to get, it would have no great importance."

The knife finally broke through the plant and she was able to catch it before it fell. She tucked the knife back into her pocket before running the stem of the plant underneath her belt. After testing to make sure it was secure, she started to descend, her feet blindly searching for some holds.

Lucius' eyes never strayed from her, careful to watch every move she made. She was quite skilled at climbing, he noted. She apparently knew what she was doing, but still, accidents could and quite often happened.

And just as that thought entered his mind, her foot slipped.

**AmAyAtHeGrEaThAtEsThErAiN**

Harry closed the book he had been using for his essay and looked around. The library was deserted, which wasn't really odd for this time of day, especially considering it was a weekend. What _was_ odd, though, was the fact that Hermione wasn't here. He had thought that he would run into her here, but he had been in the library since lunch and had yet to see her.

She hadn't been at lunch either for that matter. He had went up to talk to Falco about it, but received no help from the portrait. If he knew something, he wasn't sharing.

Harry was starting to get frustrated. He had thought he caught a glimpse of her earlier in one of the corridors, but when he had called out to her, she had continued on as if she hadn't even of heard him. He didn't think he'd done anything to her…

He slapped his head suddenly in the middle of packing up his books, catching the attention of a fifth year Ravenclaw preparing already for O.W.L.S. He offered her a sheepish smile before quickly shoving the rest of his books in his bag and running through the halls back toward his dorm.

He flew threw the common room, ignoring Rachel who called out to him. A group of sixth years boys stood in the stairwell, blocking his path, but Harry shoved past them rather rudely. Once in his room, he slung his bag on his bed and open his trunk, digging through it until he could find the Marauder's Map.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," he said quickly, tapping the parchment with the tip of his wand. He watched as the blank ink spread from the tip of his wand and out over the parchment.

"Harry, what are you doing?"

He glanced behind him to see Rachel standing there with Declan. They were both looking at him rather curiously. "I'm looking for Hermione. Have either of you seen her?"

Rachel shook her head while Declan said, "We thought she has been with you or in the library. She was walking down the corridor earlier today."

"Headed where?" Harry asked.

"Well, it actually looked like she was heading down to the dungeons, but I could have been wrong," Declan answered, shrugging.

"Maybe not," Harry muttered, flipping open the map. His eyes scanned over it quickly, looking for her name. Rachel came over to stand beside him.

"Mum?" At Harry's confused look, she said, "She's in the dungeons." She looked between Declan and Harry. "With Snape."

Harry quickly folded up the map and jumped to his feet. Declan jumped in his path before he could get out of the dorm and asked, "Where are you going?"

"To the dungeons," he replied easily, staring at Declan as if the answer should have just been obvious. "Hermione's up to something and I'm guessing Mum's helping her with something. If you haven't noticed, Malfoy hasn't been hanging about either."

Declan nodded and said, "We're going with you."

When Harry went to protest, Rachel quickly said, "Harry, we agreed that we're all in this together." She paused. "Well, obviously Hermione has veered from that slightly, but we're still supposed to be helping each other. We're going with you."

"Fine," the black haired teen replied through gritted teeth.

Harry led the way with Declan and Rachel following close behind. Ahead of them, he didn't notice how Declan stepped closer to Rachel, his hand resting lightly on her elbow as he guided her along.

They took two of the secret passages way to get down to the dungeons quicker. Harry paused to check the map once during their trip to make sure they hadn't moved. His mum and Snape were standing side by side at one of the tables, doing something.

He picked up his pace then, winding his way through the twisting corridors and the moving staircases. Finally, they moved down the final staircase leading down to the dungeons.

Harry put the map in his back pocket before opening the door. Instead of finding his mum standing in there with Snape, he found someone else.

"Hermione?" Declan said, his voice showing the confusion that all three teens were feeling at the moment. "But…." He turned to Harry. "You…" He sighed. "I'm confused."

"So am I," Harry said, looking between a sheepish looking Hermione and a scowling Snape. He stared at the scene in front of him for a moment then crossed his arms, leaning back against the doorframe. "Hello Mother. Where's Hermione?"

A tense silence stretched across the room, not even Snape had anything to say. Finally, a rough, "Shut the door," emerged from Snape, causing the two younger teens to jump. Rachel shut the door behind her as they stood there, staring at each other.

"I am Hermione, Harry," Lily tried lamely, causing her son to snort. "Okay, so I'm not."

"Where is she?" Harry asked again.

"We're waiting for her to return, Potter," Snape answered. "I'm sure she will tell you everything once she returns."

"Where is she?" Harry tried once more, straightening up.

"Bhutan," Lily finally said, "with Lucius, but she should be back soon."

Snape's fire roared to life. Lily smiled at her children and Declan. "See, that's probably them right now."

Indeed, Lucius head appeared in the fireplace at that moment, his face smudged with dirt. He looked straight at Lily and Snape, apparently not even seeing the others in the room. "We're at a small clinic in Paro. There's been an accident."

**A/N: I also solemnly swear that a certain dog is coming back soon! **

**As always, much love!**

**MiZZ AmAyA**


	27. Rua tekau ma whitu

**DISCLAIMER: No matter how many times I pretend to be her, I shall never be JK Rowling..... I'm merely taking her characters out for a test drive.**

**Thanks to my lovely beta, MoonyNZ**

**Oh, and... "Woof, woof." ... let's see how many people can figure that one out.**

**Rua tekau ma whitu**

Hermione was sitting up in the bed when they arrived in a stumbling rush to the clinic. She was looking at them all as if they had gone mad. Lucius, meanwhile, was sitting comfortably in one of the chairs, one leg folded over the other while he flipped idly through a book.

Harry was immediately by her side, his eyes moving over her quickly to assess the damage. Rachel was holding onto Lily while Declan came to stand beside Harry, asking, "How bad are you hurt?"

She rounded on Lucius, throwing the box of tissues on the stand beside the hospital bed at him and hitting him on the shoulder. "What did you tell them?"

He calmly placed the box of tissues back on the stand and remained standing by her bed. "I told them the truth." He paused as she glared at him before continuing, "That there had been an accident."

She smacked him on the arm, baring her teeth as she ground out, "I barely even fell." She turned to the others, smiling apologetically at them all. "I'm fine, really. I didn't even warrant a trip here, but someone," she threw a nasty glare at Lucius, "insisted that I come and get checked out."

"Then you're alright?" Harry inquired.

"Yes, Harry, I'm fine. Actually, we were just waiting on the Healer now to come in and release me." She glared at Lucius once more before turning to smile at Harry. "Really, you guys didn't need to come."

"You shouldn't even be here," Harry argued. He helped her rise from the bed, one arm wrapped around her back to make sure she didn't fall. When she was standing, he poked her hard, almost causing her to fall back onto it.

"What was that for?" she cried, rubbing her chest where he had poked her.

"For not telling us you were going on a hair brain mission, taking him," he jabbed a finger in Lucius' direction, "with you instead of us, and getting yourself hurt." He ran a hand through his dishevelled hair. "What were you even looking for, anyway?"

Hermione held her hand out to Lucius who handed her his pack. She placed it down on the bed and flipped the flap open. "This," she said, pulling out the plant. "This is the main ingredient for the potion I'm going to brew. I think I finally figured it out."

Harry stared at her for a minute before jerking her toward him and hugging her tightly. "Just don't run off again," he whispered to her. "When he said that there had been an accident, I thought I had lost you."

She pulled back enough to kiss his cheek. "I love you, Harry." She lightly pushed him and then turned to Lily. The smile on her face fell as she suddenly realized something. "If you're here, who is pretending to be me?"

Lily's own smile fell as she pulled on Rachel's hand, then grabbing hold of Declan. "We need to go," she said quickly, pushing them out of the room. "We'll see you back at school."

Hermione picked up her clothes from the foot of the bed and walked toward the bathroom. "I'm going to go get changed." She looked at Lucius. "Get the release papers."

Harry put everything back in the pack and closed it. Lucius, meanwhile, walked out of the room in search of the Healer. He saw another pack in one of the corners, looking at it curiously before walking over and picking it up. He listened to the sound of water running in the bathroom, and, before he could change his mind, he opened it.

She had stuffed about three journals and a huge stack of parchment within. He pulled out some of the loose sheets of parchment and noticed the writing on it. He read through it quickly, flipping through them.

He paused when he found one with Hermione's name on it, but he knew it wasn't her writing. Reading through it, he was shocked by what was there. He lowered himself down onto the bed and continued reading.

"Harry?"

He turned guiltily, almost dropping the stuff in his hands. "Hermione." He tried to smile, but failed upon seeing the look on her face. "I…"

"You looked through my pack?" Her voice was soft, a hint of hurt within.

"Yeah," he admitted. He placed the stuff down on the bed and turned to her, hands stretched out pleadingly. "Look, Hermione, I'm worried about you. You never tell us stuff or let us help you. You can't do this all on your own, you know."

"I did before," she said, her voice now laced with anger as she walked over and started shoving her stuff back into her bag.

Harry grabbed her arm when she went to brush by him. "But you don't have to this time," he countered. "Look, Hermione, I'm the one that has to kill him, we all know that, which is why your plan didn't work before. So, how about you tell me what you're planning and let _me_ kill him so he'll actually stay dead this time."

She didn't say anything as she met his gaze, her arm still in his grasp as they stared at each other. Someone cleared their throat from the doorway, garnering both teens' attention. Lucius stood there, a curious look in his eye, as he looked from one to the other.

"Shall we?"

Harry stepped back to allow Hermione to go first, sandwiching her in between Lucius and himself. They walked down the hall until they came to the small, stone fireplace that they had floo'ed in from earlier.

They went through one at a time, calling out for Snape's private floo at Hogwarts. They arrived to an empty classroom. Harry came through last to find Lucius and Hermione standing side by side, looking around curiously.

"Get the plant to Snape," Hermione told Lucius, sliding her own pack underneath Snape's desk and whispering an incantation with the flick of her wand, making the pack shrink and glue itself to the under part of the desk.

She turned to Harry, then, taking his hands in her own. "The recipe for the potion is in my pack. If anything happens, make sure you get that to Snape, alright Harry?"

"Hermione…"

"Promise me," she whispered, hugging him suddenly. Leaning up to whisper in his ear, she said, "You were right, it always had to be you, Harry. You have to get this potion made and then kill him. Don't worry about me. Promise?"

He found it hard to swallow all of a sudden, but nodded nevertheless. He tightened his arms around her, only loosening his grip when she pulled back. "I'll be alright," she asserted softly, squeezing his hands.

Lucius handed the pack off to Harry with instructions for him to stay put and hide. For once, the young teen did not question orders and took the pack and walked through a door leading back into Snape's stores. There, he moved some of the containers on the floor and slid back into the space, pulling them back in front of him.

Hermione waited there with Lucius for a minute to give time to Harry to hide. She knew that he hated not going with them, but she appreciated the fact that he saw the importance in him not being present.

Turning to Lucius, she forced a smile to her face. "You should stay too, you know. You don't need to give them anymore reason to hate you."

"We're in this together," he told her. He touched her hand lightly when she passed him, walking toward the main door. He waited a few paces back, watching as she reached out and touched the handle.

Her hand hadn't even made contact with the door handle when it flew open by itself. Hermione's chin lifted in defiance when three Ministry officials stepped into the room, circling her. She merely stood there, not even bothering to say anything to them when one pulled her arms roughly behind her back. He shot ropes from the end of his wand, tying her hands together.

"Hermione Granger, you are under arrest for breaching the conditions imposed on you by the Ministry of Magic leading to your trial date. You will be taking into Ministry custody immediately and will be placed in a holding cell until such a time it is deemed whether transportation to Azkaban Prison is necessary." He paused, the grip he had on her harm loosening slightly. This time, his voice was slightly softer and gentler when he spoke. "Any questions?"

"None," was all she said as they led her from the room.

She could hear Lucius following quickly behind her and the Aurors. At the top of the stairs, Lily and Lauri stood together, Lily's eyes apologizing for leaving the school. Hermione smiled at her, mouthing, 'It's alright,' before continuing on down the corridor, one of the Aurors guiding her.

"Hermione?" a few of the students asked as they passed, all moving to the sides of the corridor. Hermione thought she caught sight of Falco lingering in one of the portraits, but didn't look over to check.

She wanted to get out of there as fast as possible, away from the inquisitive eyes and gossiping students, but her pride refused to allow her to beg that favour from the Aurors. Instead, her chin tilted even higher, more defiant, as she stared straight ahead.

They walked her clear down to the gates leading into Hogwarts before one of the guards took her arm in his and apparated them to the Auror department of the Ministry. Hermione remembered the place well, having been in the room before, though she had been the one escorting the prisoner then.

She looked around, catching the gaze of many of the Auror's present. She even remembered a few of them from her time working for the department twenty years prior. They stared openly back, some curious while others looked angered.

She saw James standing a little ways back, his mouth open in shock. Shaking himself from his stupor, he pushed his way through the crowd up to her. When he reached out to grab her, one of the Aurors pulled her back, away from his grasp.

"Miss Granger has been arrested for breaking Ministry law," one of the arresting Aurors told James. "We are to escort her to a holding cell until…"

"Untie her, for Merlin's sake," James cried, trying once more to get to her. "She's not going to run or do anything. She shouldn't be treated like some criminal.."

"She _is _a criminal, Auror Potter," the one who was gripping her arm tightly answered. "As such, procedure dictates that we keep her bound until she is safely within the holding cell."

"You're hurting her," James returned through gritted teeth.

"Not our problem," the same one answered, shoving her forward roughly. "Now, please move so we can continue on doing our job."

James moved, though he did it grudgingly. His eyes were apologetic, much like those of his wife's, but she knew that he couldn't possibly do anything to help her. She turned her gaze from him to the place that she had once used with James and Sirius by her side. Now, some young Aurors not much older than herself sat there, watching the scene before them.

Turning to James, she said, "He's not dead." He looked confused, but she continued, "_They_ are not dead, James, _they_."

He still looked confused when the Aurors pushed her forward, directing her down one of the hallways. They had made it about a fourth of the way down when loud screams erupted from somewhere nearby followed by a loud blast.

One of the Aurors escorting her pushed her down, covering her body with his own while the ceiling cracked above them. She heard someone shouting orders, telling a group to go one way while another went around.

"Let me up," she whispered to the man on top of her, "and I can help."

He eased up slightly, staring at her when she rolled over. Shaking his head, he said, "I can't…. You're a prisoner and I can't…"

Hermione recognized him as being the one that was trying to be civil about the whole situation. Her eyes urged him along with her next words to let her go. "I _can_ help if you just untie me. Please, just trust me…"

"I shouldn't…."

"They will kill you all if you don't let me loose," she said, letting a note of desperation seep into her voice to help her plight. "Don't you get it? Voldemort isn't dead and I wager everything I have that those are his men out there. He'll be stronger now than he was before. You _have_ to let me go."

He bit his lip in thought before quickly taking his wand and slicing through the bindings with magic. He then removed her wand that he had confiscated earlier from his robes and handed it to her. "If they ask," he said while helping her up, "you got loose on your own."

She chuckled softly. "They'd probably believe it too." They could still hear screaming coming from somewhere down the hall. "Stay behind me and watch my back," she instructed before taking off at a light jog, dodging the fallen debris as the building shook once more.

A loud crack echoed in the area around them. Hermione looked up. The ceiling ahead was starting to fall in large pieces, the crack running back toward them. "Duck," she cried, turning and pushing the man behind her against one of the walls. The tile crashed along the centre, barely missing them.

"Thanks," he said, surveying the mess behind her.

Hermione shot him a quick grin before pulling away. "No problem. Come on."

The scene before them sent Hermione catapulting back to the Final Battle. Bloody bodies were strewn about the floor, mostly visitors that had come to take care of some mediocre business. A number of Death Eaters were spread about the room, duelling with Aurors who were in various states of distress. Some where hurt badly and doing their best to remain standing, she saw, while others were just barely scuffed up.

She turned back to the man behind her. "Go to Hogwarts and find Professor Snape. Tell him that he needs to finish it immediately. He'll know what you're talking about."

"What about you?"

Turning from him, she said, "I've survived worst. Hurry."

She let out her breath when she heard him run back the way they had come to the apparating point. She only hoped that he could get to Snape in time. Her eyes scanned over the scene, catching sight of James who was duelling two Death Eaters. He didn't look hurt, so she let her gaze continue on.

When a Death Eater raised his wand to deliver a nasty hex, Hermione shot off her own spell just as quick, catching the Death Eater in the shoulder and sending him flying. The Auror in question turned to look at her, looking slightly shocked at first to see her standing there but then smiled in thanks.

Hermione took a step forward, intending on helping another Auror out when a spell shot out from the side, hitting her and sending her crumbling to the ground. Her wand fell from her hand as she hit the floor, her body tensing as spasms of pain shot through her. Tears ran freely from her eyes, soaking her cheeks as her blood was now soaking her side.

"Hello Hermione."

She forced her eyes open to stare up into the red-tinted eyes of Voldemort, his thin lips twisted into a sinister smile. He was bent down over her, his wand idly making circles over her abdomen. His touch was cool as he trailed an index finger down her cheek.

"Did you think I was dead?" he inquired pleasantly, twisting one of her curls around his finger.

"No," she answered, forcing her voice to be strong. "I was wondering when you were going to show your pale face again."

"Ah, how I have missed you and your sharp tongue," he mused, gripping a fistful of hair tightly and tugging on it harshly. She bit down hard on her bottom lip, drawing blood, to keep from crying out. "I shall enjoy trying to tame it."

"And I shall enjoy watching you die."

He laughed at her, low and mockingly. "Haven't you learned yet, Hermione? I don't die very easily. In fact, I'm very determined never to stay dead for too long."

"You're running out of lives, Voldemort," she said, "and your time is about up."

His gaze hardened on her, a beam of blue light shooting from his wand and striking her in the middle of her stomach. This time, she did cry out, screaming as the pain racked her body. She could feel the blood soaking her shirt clear through, could feel the wetness on her skin.

"You are mine," he hissed, going to raise his wand once more.

"No, she's mine."

Hermione looked up just as the spell came from nowhere, catching Voldemort off guard. He spun away quickly, disapparating away along with his Death Eaters, but not before shooting the Dark Mark up into the air.

Hermione paid no heed to it though, for standing right in front of her- dirty, bloody, unshaven, and dishevelled- was none other than Sirius Black.

**Did you figure it out? Almost over folks.**

**Much Love, **

**MiZZ AmAyA**


	28. Rua tekau ma waru

**DISCLAIMER: I merely decided to take a walk and bring JK's characters along with me for the stroll...**

**Thanks to my wonderful beta, MoonyNZ. Warning: This really is just patch work.**

**Rua tekau ma waru**

_Hermione paid no heed to it though, for standing right in front of her- dirty, bloody, unshaven, and dishevelled- was none other than Sirius Black. _

Hermione listened to the distinct pops that signalled the departure of the Death Eaters but never looked away from Sirius. Slowly, she rose, stumbling up as the deafening noise around her rang silent in her ears. Her legs almost gave out, but she continued toward him, pushing people out of her as she fell into his open arms.

Dust-laced tears streaked her cheeks, her hands wrapped firmly around his neck as she held onto him for support. People moved around them, but neither noticed. Her fingers wound their way into his hair, tangling themselves in with the knots.

"I knew," she whispered, her voice racked with emotion as she pressed her face into the crook of his neck. "I knew you couldn't be dead."

She could feel his smile as he kissed her neck, squeezing her tighter. "Takes more than some puny Death Eaters to take me down."

She laughed, despite herself. "Did you at least bring me back a pointy hat?" she asked, remembering a time long ago.

"Darling, I brought you a ton." His lips sought out hers, neither caring about the fact that her lip was bleeding or that his stubble was scratching her skin. His hands cupped her face, his lips slowly moving over hers. "I love you so unbelievably much."

"I love you too," she returned. She brushed her thumb over his cheek, smiling at him. "I can't believe you're here right now. I feel like this is a dream, or perhaps I'm dead."

"What do you think about me?" he asked with a laugh. "I've been trying to sneak back to London without getting caught by one of those buggers for a while now. _I_ can't believe that _you're_ here." He paused, a frown forming on his face. "Just what are you doing here anyway?"

"Oh, I got arrested."

The silence stretched between them while he stared at her. Then, "You what?"

"Got arrested," she repeated. "They want to send me to Azkaban actually." She was surprised at how calm her voice was, but she supposed having Sirius back gave her a little more confidence in dealing with the Ministry.

She found herself suddenly back in his arms. He held onto her tightly, one hand stroking her back in a comforting gesture. "You know I'm not going to let that happen, don't you?" he whispered in her ear, kissing her lightly.

"I know."

"Sirius?"

James stood behind them, a look of bemusement on his face as he stared at Sirius. The latter laughed good heartedly, lamely joking, "I'm a ghost, James."

"Shut up, you git," James said, even as he ran and wrapped his arms around his best friend in a hug. "They tried to make me clean out your desk while you were on vacation, but I wouldn't do it."

Sirius pulled back and stared at the other man. "You took my paperweight, didn't you?"

James at least had the decency to look sheepish. "Well, you might _not_ have come back."

"Keep it," Sirius said, playfully punching him in the arm, "I won't be needing it anymore." He wrapped one arm around Hermione's waist and pulled her to him, snuggling her against his body. "I'm quitting the Ministry."

Hermione wasn't as surprise as James apparently was about this revelation. He stood, mouth hanging wide open, staring at Sirius. "What? Why?"

"James, they sent me into a known Death Eater camp, alone, without any hope of getting backup. Excuse me if I don't particularly want to work for a group of people that would send me off to die."

"Then I'll quit too."

Sirius didn't refute his best mate's words. Instead, he nodded solemnly. "Might be for the best. If this gets any worse, they may try to come after you."

"James, why don't you hold off for a bit on that," Hermione spoke up, causing both men to turn to her in astonishment.

"Hermione," Sirius started, "you're the one that is always going on about the corruption of the Ministry. You tried to talk us out of joining in the first place, remember?"

"I know," Hermione said, a touch of defensiveness in her voice, "but it might be useful for James to continue to work for them for a while at least. Then, we might know a little about what is going on. After all, they can't really hide a lot from James with his position."

"She does have a point," James said reasonably.

"We need as much information that we can get," Hermione quietly persuaded. She ran her hand lightly down Sirius' arm, stepping closer to him. "With Voldemort back, we need to know what the Ministry is doing."

There was a slight pause before Sirius finally nodded, wrapping his arm back around her waist. "You're right, but he can't stay here forever. They'll take advantage of the situation."

"So I'll stay until we get everything taken care of," James said. "Speaking of, we might want to sneak out of here before they notice."

Hermione shook her head. "Can't. Technically, I'm still a prisoner."

Sirius growled. "This is ridiculous." He looked around at all the Ministry officials clustered about. None of them were really paying attention to them. "I think we could sneak out and hide you somewhere."

"I'm not running from them, Sirius." She took a step away from him. Looking at James, she said, "Will you go to Hogwarts and ask Snape if he's ready."

"Ready?" they both asked.

"He'll know what you're talking about. There should be an Auror there at the moment. He was nice to me so please make sure that he's alright." She turned to Sirius, then, and took his hand. "I need you to go too." When he went to protest, she placed a finger on his lips. "I need you to tell Dumbledore to come tomorrow to see me. Please, Sirius."

He only nodded before walking off with James toward the fireplaces where they could floo to the school. Once they were out of sight, she drew in a deep breath before walking over to one of the Aurors. He merely stared at her, confused, as she handed him her wand and then held her hands out.

The man used his wand to tie her hands together. "For the record, Miss Granger, I don't think you deserve to go on trial, especially considering all you've done for us."

With a soft, "Thanks," she allowed him to direct her down to one of the holding cells.

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTcAnNoTpLaYcHoPsTiCkS**

Lucius hovered over Severus, watching as the other man measured out the ingredients carefully to Hermione's calculations. He would stand for a minute, rocking slightly, and then would move around to the other side and stand there for a bit.

"You could leave," Severus suggested, trying for some unknown reason to be polite. He understood that his blond friend was worried, but he was only able to take so much. "I will let you know when I finish."

"I'm fine," Lucius brushed off.

Severus continued to stir the potion counter clockwise, counting mentally, while he levelled Lucius with a heavy glare. "But I'm not. You are wearing my patience thin, my friend, and I will hex you if you continue to hover and whine like a fishmonger's wife."

Lucius snorted, but went over and took a seat nearby. He then proceeded to tap his cane on the floor impatiently, the 'click-click' noise echoing off the stone walls of the dungeon.

A muscle started to tic at Severus' temple while he gritted his teeth. _Potion_, he chanted to himself, trying desperately to ignore the irksome sound. Finally, "Get out!" He finished stirring the potion and threw the rod down on the table. "Get out, get out, get out!"

"Bad time?"

Severus and Lucius both looked over at the two men standing in the doorway. A scowl instantly formed on the former's face, while the latter went from looking dumbstruck to almost looking like a child that had just had his favourite toy taken from him.

"Black."

"Malfoy, Snape." Sirius stepped into the room with James right behind him. "The Ministry was just attacked by Death Eaters and Voldemort himself. Hermione is alright," he said when Lucius opened his mouth, "but she refused to come back with us."

James took a step closer to Severus then. "She said to ask you if it's ready, and that you would know what she meant."

"Almost," Severus answered, turning back to the potion. Then, "Three, two, one…"

Sure enough, three teens came barrelling through the door, crashing into Sirius who was still standing near it. They dog piled on top of him with cries of, "Sirius!"

Severus muttered something that sounded like, "Immature imbeciles," but continued mixing the potion, the green steam now curling up toward the ceiling. He pulled a small vial toward him, ignoring the teens questioning Sirius on his whereabouts, and added a drop of dragon's blood to the mixture. Steam billowed from the cauldron, black sparks flying out for a minute before the mixture settled.

"Mr. Potter," he drawled, catching both James' and Harry's attention. "The young Mr. Potter," he clarified, "come here."

Harry went over and stood beside the Potions Master, glancing down into the mixture. "Sir?" As soon as the smell reached his nostrils, he instantly wrinkled his nose, jerking away. "Oh, that's nasty."

The Potions Master rolled his eyes slightly and transferred some into a vial, putting a stopper on it before handing it to the teen. "This potion will strip Voldemort of his powers…"

"And how is he supposed to get Voldemort to drink that?" James interrupted.

"Did I say that it had to be drunk, Potter?" Severus drawled. "It needs to come into contact with his skin to be effective."

Harry stared at the little vial in his hand, then nodded. "I think I can do that." His fingers curled around the glass tube before he turned to Sirius. "Did she say anything else?"

"No, but I think she knows something that she's not telling us."

James suddenly rapped the table hard with his knuckles. "The Ministry," he said suddenly drawing confused looks from everyone in the room. "Come on, surely someone else has to see it." When no one answered, he gave a triumphant cheer. "You mean I figured something out before everyone else? Oh, I can't wait till I tell Lily this one…"

"James," Sirius growled.

"Why else would she want me to stay at the Ministry? I mean, we have other people in the Order that work there that would get the same information that I would so why would she stress that I needed to be there?"

"It's going to happen at the Ministry," Lucius said, standing from his chair.

"Yes," James cried. "She knows that Voldemort will do anything to get to her and by staying at the Ministry…"

"She is insuring that it happens where she wants it to," Sirius finished. "Genius."

"The only question left is when," Lucius said, starting to pace once more.

"No, Hermione told us that too," James continued, wrapping his arm around his daughter's shoulders. He turned to Sirius, "Tomorrow."

"Right," continued the other man. "She told me to have Dumbledore go and see her tomorrow. She must be sure that Voldemort is going to strike again and quickly."

"Before the Ministry can regroup, of course," Severus said.

"He would want to strike when their defences are down," Lucius continued, twisting the cane around in his hands. "Especially if he wanted to get to Hermione. They won't be guarding her as closely as they work on securing the Ministry again."

"It would be easy to get to her," Harry finished, his eyes wide as he stared at the empty wall behind Snape's desk. He squeezed the vial once more and said, "He's not going to get to her… he's not going to get the chance to."

James turned his daughter toward him, tapping her on the nose. "And, again, you're going to stay put." Then, he looked at Declan who had remained silence so far. "And you are going to stay with her this time and make sure she's alright."

"I'm going with you," he said defiantly. "I can duel."

"You're staying, and I'm sure your father and mother would agree with me."

Before Declan could say anything, a voice from the doorway said, "Yes, we would." Lauri crossed her arms in a way that told her son that there would be no arguing this time while Lily and Remus stood behind her with small smiles on their faces.

"But Mum…"

"Don't 'Mum' me," she chided. "We let you come the last time. You're going to stay here with Rachel this time. Understand?"

"Yes ma'am," he pouted.

"So what's the plan?" Lily asked stepping up beside her husband.

"At the moment, get Dumbledore, get the Order, and go charging in to save Hermione," Sirius said nonchalantly.

"Great plan," Severus drawled sarcastically.

"Got a better one?"

"She practically handed one to you, Black. They might be neglectful in some of their duties, but they will do everything they can to lock her up for defying them, and Hermione knows that," Severus continued casually, sorting away his ingredients. "They will probably try to assemble a small group while everyone is busy tomorrow and charge her without a full trial."

"Dumbledore was going to oversee her case," Lauri said, excited. "It would only be natural for him to go visit her. Lily and I could go with him. James would have the excuse of going to work while Sirius can go in to clean out his desk. Harry would want to visit her so that gives him an excuse. We can also get all the Order members that work at the Ministry to help."

Lucius smirked. "Severus and I have a new plant that has yet to be studied. It would merely be convenient for us to take it in to them."

"That leaves you," Lily said, pointing at Remus.

"Invisibility cloak," he stated simply.

"Okay," Sirius said, clapping his hands together, "we've got a plan, now we just need to get ready. Tomorrow, we're going to end this thing once and for all."

**OOOH...next chapter is the last "actual" chapter...**

**Love, as always,**

**MiZZ AmAyA**


	29. Rua tekau ma iwa

**DISCLAIMER: Sorry to disappoint, but I must admit that I do not own Harry Potter. I know, I know, it's a tragedy...**

**All thanks to my wonderful beta, MoonyNZ.**

**Rue tekau ma iwa**

The Ministry was just beginning to stir when Dumbledore swept in through the floo, followed by both Lily, Lauri, and Harry. A minute later, another floo roared to life. James and Sirius both stepped through and nodded at the group beside them before heading toward the Auror department.

Lauri reached out slightly to the side and touched something, a move that wouldn't be noticed unless someone was watching very closely. She smiled at the others and nodded. They all moved through the Ministry down toward the holding cells.

As they went, some of the people that they passed gave small nods to the group. The Order members were dispersed clear throughout the Ministry, their minds, unlike everyone else, not focused on rebuilding the destroyed section, but rather to prepare for the attack.

They found Hermione sitting in the middle of one of the cells, her legs crossed in front of her and her eyes closed. She had a small smudge of dirt across the scar that ran down her cheek. She was whispering different spells to herself, starting with the spells she had learnt her first year and going clear to NEWT level spells.

"Hermione," Harry said, kneeling down in front of the bars and holding his hand through it. Hermione's eyes opened and she smiled, crawling forward to take hold of his hand. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Harry," she assured. She moved closer to him and cupped his cheek, leaning close to the bars to whisper, "Do you have it?"

He nodded, then pulled his hand back and slipped it into his pocket. Pulling out a vial, he discreetly handed it to her. "Snape gave us all one so. There's always a chance that I won't be able to hit him. This way, one of us can strip him of his magic."

"Just remember that you have to kill him." She gave him a light kiss on the cheek. She stood, then, using the action to hide the vial in her pocket. "Is everyone ready?" she asked Dumbledore.

"Yes, Miss Granger. We have Order members spread throughout the entire Ministry."

Hermione nodded, stepping back from the bars and back toward the centre of the cell. "Now all we have to do is wait."

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTtHiNkStHeBiTeMeMaNiScRaZy**

It was just after one when Voldemort struck. Hermione had been removed from her cell thirty minutes prior for an impromptu hearing. The members of the Wizengamot that were present were slightly surprised when Dumbledore was there waiting for them.

Hermione could tell almost instantly that they were determined to send her to Azkaban. They were using every angle they could to find a reason, but Dumbledore easily countered them. He argued that there was no law pronouncing it illegal to travel through time, and, if there was, Time Turners should not exist.

Dumbledore would not let them gain any ground. For every move they made, he found a loophole in their reasoning. Hermione could only smile at the floundering of the Ministry. Lily and Lauri both whispered their confidence that she would be let free.

It was about thirty minutes into the trial when they were interrupted by a loud explosion. Hermione had a flashback of the previous day when the officials all instantly ducked before thinking about defending themselves.

Dumbledore instantly had his wand out, as did Lily and Lauri. "It's starting," he told them softly. "Hermione, make sure they're alright, and then get your wand."

"Yes sir," she said, before running off toward the Wizengamot. "Go to the back room," she instructed them while she heard the others take off through the main door. "Go," she screamed when none of them moved.

Herding them like livestock out of the room, she finally got them into one of the back rooms. "Give me my wand," she told one of the Aurors that had followed them.

"Miss Granger," started one of the older wizards, "may I remind you that you are on trial and therefore not permitted possession of your wand."

She growled in frustration and clenched her hands into fists at her side in an effort not to hit the man. "And may I remind you, sir, that the Ministry is under attack at the moment and Voldemort is after me. Unless you want him to come striding in here, I'd give me my wand."

The wand was handed over almost instantly and she was out the door a second later, taking a moment to put a number of wards up around it to protect them. Taking off, Hermione headed toward the screams.

The bodies were already spread across the floor, more than most being Ministry officials. Hermione stepped carefully over them, her wand out in front of her as she kept her eyes open. She made sure to keep herself pressed against the wall, trying to stay out of sight as much as possible.

Rounding a corner, Hermione jumped as she almost ran into Lucius and Severus. Her wand was shoved under Lucius' chin before she noticed it was him. He merely arched one of his aristocratic brows.

"Sorry," she muttered, lowering her wand.

"Don't apologize," he told her. "I could have been a Death Eater." He straightened his robes and smirked at her. "We were just coming to retrieve you."

"Where's the battle?"

"At the moment," Severus started, "it's all over the building. It started near where you just were, but the Order has managed to push them back."

"He knew you'd be brought to trial today," Lucius continued.

"I figured that." She ran her hand through her hair and let out a deep breath. "Alright, here's the plan. I'm going to go find Harry."

"So you're using yourself as bait?"

She nodded. "Basically."

"You're crazy," Lucius informed her.

Hermione grinned, giving him a playful poke. "I know I am, but it'll work." She turned when she heard someone stumbling over fallen pieces of the ceiling. Her wand was automatically pointed at the two, ready to throw off a spell, before she recognized them. "Your parents are going to murder you."

Declan grinned sheepishly while Rachel raised her chin defiantly. "I made him come," she said, "so it's not his fault. But if you lot thought I'd stay behind while you all could have been killed, then you're all bloody idiots."

"Language," Lucius chided, though Hermione noticed the amused smirk on his face. "Though I wager I'm going to regret this, I will watch after the children…"

"Hey!"

"While you and Severus work your way to Mr. Potter and Voldemort," Lucius continued, ignoring the indignant outburst from Rachel.

"Sounds like a plan," Hermione said, and, before the younger two had time to protest, she grabbed Severus' arm and took off on down the hall. She could hear Rachel and Lucius bickering behind her while Declan tried to get her to calm down.

A Death Eater stood before them up ahead, but one well placed spell easily knocked him out. The hallway split there, then met back up later. Hermione nodded at Severus and they separated for a while, each taking one of the forking hallways.

Hermione snuck up behind a Death Eater who was casting a well aimed, "_Crucio_," on a member of the Ministry. She flicked her wand with a silent, "_Stupify_," and then tied up the knocked out Death Eater. The other man looked alright; she figured he would need medical treatment but his wounds weren't life threatening at the moment.

She could feel the hair on the back of her neck stand up as she weaved her way through the fallen debris and bodies. She stopped, her back stiffening when the tip of a wand was pressed against the middle of her back.

"Hello girly," a raspy voice said in her ear, "my master be looking for you."

"What a coincidence, I'm looking for him as well."

She whipped around before he could register her movements and knocked the wand away with her arm, following that with a swift kid to his side. He bent over wheezing, his wand dropping from his hand. Hermione drove her elbow down onto his upper back just below his neck, causing him to fall all the way to the floor with a grunt of pain.

"Unfortunately for you," she drawled, "I don't need you to take me to him. _Stupify_."

Hermione felt the beam of light strike her shoulder before she could even step over the fallen Death Eater. As she stumbled, her wand flew from her hand. She didn't even have a chance to turn to see her attacker as ropes encircled her from behind.

"Hello Hermione."

Hermione stopped struggling almost instantly as she heard the voice, her mind racing as she tried to develop a plan. She moved her arms slightly, testing the tightness of the ropes, but found them securely wrapped around her.

"No greeting for me?" Voldemort continued, striding up to her leisurely. He circled her, running one pale digit across the ropes. "You wound me."

"You need to have feelings before they could be hurt," she bit out, staring at him through narrowed eyes. She tried to lean away from his touch, but paused when she almost fell.

"Oh, but I do have feelings," he drawled, stepping closer to her. "I want you, my dear. I have always wanted you and I'm afraid I refuse to take no for an answer."

"Too bad." She gritted her teeth as his hand moved to her cheek, tracing her scar. "I'm afraid that I must refuse your _lovely_ offer."

He wound his way in behind her, his hands coming to rest on her waist as he leaned in close, whispering in her ear, "I must admit confusion as to why you remain fighting for people that would persecute you. I came today to save you, Hermione."

"No, you came to take over the Ministry. I just merely happened to be here which was convenient for you."

He chuckled, his wandering hands starting to become a nuisance. "Perhaps that is true, but I am here nonetheless for you. They have tried to kill you before. Do you remember, Hermione? Do you remember how they sent you right into my group and it was I that sent my Death Eaters away before you were caught? Do you remember how many times they sent you out alone to scout Death Eaters when everyone else were sent with at least one other wizard?"

"That was the Ministry, not the Order." She tried to move her hands underneath the ropes to get the potion, but found that she was unable to.

"Are they not interloped?" he drawled. "Join me, Hermione, and I will make you a Queen. You can rule by my side over my Death Eaters and the world."

Hermione smirked slightly, hearing the light pad of someone moving up behind them. "Sorry, but I'm afraid your offer doesn't appeal to me much."

She knew the moment that the potion was thrown against him. Voldemort stumbled into her, knocking them both to the ground with him on top of her. She kicked her legs, trying to free herself. Voldemort gripped her tightly though, his body and hand holding her beneath him while his other hand sought his wand.

"Hermione!"

"Sirius," she called, fighting against Voldemort's hold. She felt it then, the ropes around her starting to slacken. The realization hit her and Voldemort at the same moment when he gripped his wand. To the left she heard the soft pad of dog paws on the marble floor, nails scraping as the Animagus sought purchase.

"What did you do?" he hissed, his hand going instantly to her throat.

"Made you into the very thing you despised," she growled, fighting him now. "Surprise, Tom, you're a muggle."

"No." The one word growl left him just as she managed to dig her elbow into his gut, causing him to loosen his grip in surprise. "I will kill you."

Sirius was upon them then, throwing himself onto Voldemort and knocking him off her. Harry was right behind him, extending his hand to help Hermione up from the floor.

"End it, Harry," she told him, her eyes seeking out the two struggling on the ground. "Sirius."

Sirius shifted back from his dog form and came to stand by Hermione while Harry faced Voldemort with his wand. Sirius' hand gripped hers tightly, pulling her toward him.

She didn't look away as Harry cast the killing curse, hitting Voldemort square in the chest. She didn't flinch as the body of the Dark Lord slumped lifelessly to the floor, his wide red eyes staring blankly up at the ceiling. She didn't move as Sirius stepped forward, her hand falling from his, to place his hand on his godson's shoulder.

"It's done," she said, drawing their attention. "It's over."

She heard the cry of one of the Death Eaters down the hall, yelling that the Dark Lord was dead. The Order starting striking them down as they tried to apparate away, catching most of them before they could escape.

Sirius extended his hand to her, offering her a small smile. She returned it happily as she took it, threading her fingers through his. "It's really over," she whispered once more, looking up at him through hopeful eyes.

"Yeah, it is."

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTtHiNkShEaDaChEsShOuLdNoTeXiSt**

The Ministry dropped all charges against Hermione Granger two days after the defeat of Voldemort. The public had deemed her a hero for her actions taken to bring down one of the most evil wizards in history and, as such, the Ministry did not dare to send her to Azkaban.

The Ministry had a lot of work to do after they finally managed to capture the remaining Death Eaters. Whole sections of the building was in ruin and many had been killed. Fifty three had lost their lives to Death Eaters, while the dark wizards had lost twelve of their own.

Hermione had gone home with Sirius that night; Dumbledore had dismissed classes for a whole week and allowed the students to return home for a short break. The pair had snuck away while Lauri and Lily were chastising their children, managing to leave without catching anyone's eyes.

Later that night, Hermione snuggled up against Sirius as they sat outside on the deck, staring up at the night sky. She threaded her fingers through his and kissed his bare chest, letting his scent envelope her.

"I love you," he whispered, running his hand through her curls. Pulling a couple of strands from her face, he smiled down at her. "I never got over you, you know, and then when I saw you again for the first time, I could barely believe it. I was almost scared to believe it."

"I never wanted to leave you," she told him, "but I had to." She ran her free hand down over his chest, tracing the spots where he was once covered in tattoos from Azkaban… but that was another time. "I didn't want you to go to Azkaban, so I thought…"

"Hermione," he placed one finger under her chin to tilt her face up to look at him, "though I hated losing you, I know why you did it and I understand. You did the right thing, the only thing that you could have done in your situation." He kissed her lips lightly, letting his linger against her own for a minute before pulling back. "And you saved the wizarding world."

"I love you." She drew his head back down to hers. "I love you so much," she whispered once more before capturing his lips once again.

**Hey guys… so this was the last "actual" chapter of the story. I'll be posting the epilogue soon for it and then…. A brand spankin new story! Excited? I hope you are. I am. **

**Thanks for reading,**

**MiZZ AmAyA**


	30. Toru Tekau: Epilogue

**DISCLAIMER: For the last and final time for this trilogy, I do not own Harry Potter**

**Beta: The all powerful MoonyNZ**

**Toru Tekau: Epilogue**

Hermione straightened her dress robes as she walked out of the conference area beside Harry. She smirked at his groan when he noticed that there were still more scheduled events for the library conference, one directly after dinner and two tomorrow.

"I told you that you never should have made that bet with me," Hermione said in a singsong voice. She gave him a playful poke in the side just for good measure.

"Yeah, well, I really didn't expect him to have that whole 'we-might-die-moment,'" Harry drawled sarcastically, then pouted slightly. "Do I really have to go to the final three presentations, Hermione? Haven't the past four days been torture enough?"

She levelled him with a look and said, "Whining does not become you, Wonder Boy. Now, suck it up and take it like a man. It hasn't been that bad."

"For you maybe," he grumbled under his breath, soft enough that she barely caught it.

Declan had, in fact, made a move on Rachel right after Severus and Hermione had left them behind with Lucius. The Malfoy patriarch was left grumbling about the scene for days. Apparently, Declan had kissed her, something both children's parents were slightly pleased and yet slightly disturbed by.

Needless to say, there would be no more sleepovers there.

The two had since been dating, a little awkwardly at first considering the new feelings that had surfaced, but they had eventually passed that point and were now settling in great. Everyone who saw them said instantly how they had always known that those two would end up together.

Sirius had since taken on a position working alongside Bill at Gringotts. He spent the evenings at their house as far as Hermione knew, setting it up so that she could move in as soon as she graduated- again- from Hogwarts.

They had gone through a spell where they hadn't talked to each other for over a week when Sirius had suggested that she merely take her NEWTS already and be done with it. He couldn't understand why she wanted to complete her seventh year twice, but after she had ignored him, he had dropped the subject.

James took over the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts when Remus decided to leave. He claimed that he loved teaching, but felt it wasn't quite the job he was looking for. James loved the position, though, especially since it enabled him to keep a close eye on his only daughter and Declan.

Hermione knew that Remus had been researching potions since giving up his position. She thought perhaps she could help with his research. She had applied for a position with one of the leading Potion corporations in the wizarding world. The director had contacted her almost immediately after she had owled her application. He thought she would be perfect in developing new potions and seemed eager for her to join them.

Lucius had stayed on as the Transfiguration Professor. He informed Hermione that he enjoyed the position, though he threatened to curse her if she even thought about telling anyone that.

Harry, meanwhile, was quite undecided about the future. He had once wanted to be an Auror, but after the fiasco at the Ministry, he had decided that it wasn't for him. He had many offers from professional Quidditch teams, but he was hesitating. Hermione however, had found some brochures about Dragon Keepers in his dorm room about two weeks prior.

Hermione brought her thoughts back to the present as she heard Harry mutter something and take off toward the food table. She smiled at his retreating figure, quietly chuckling over the way he had suffered through the past four days of the Library Conference.

"Haven't you tortured the poor boy enough?"

Hermione snuggled back into the warm body behind her as two arms wrapped around her waist. She tucked her head under his chin as she placed her hands over his. "Not yet."

Sirius chuckled, moving his head so he could bury his nose in her thick curls. "Evil."

"Evil would have been dragging you along to keep him company," she informed him, turning in his arms to smile up at him. "Though I doubt I could have stood your whining and pouting for very long. I probably would have tried to kill you or something."

"You'd miss me to much." He lightly bumped his nose against hers playfully, smiling mischievously. His thumbs had worked their way under the hem of her shirt and were drawing small circles across her skin.

"What are you doing here, Sirius?"

He teased her lips with his, trying, she knew, to distract her. "Is that anyway to greet your boyfriend? After he came here to whisk you away on a romantic getaway…"

"Oh no," she pulled away from him, lightly smacking his wandering hands, "I wanted to come to this conference, Sirius, and I intend on staying till the end of it."

He smiled that debonair smile that always made her pulse quicken just a bit. "Even if I got us permission to explore the underground ruins in Greece?"

She paused in straightening her shirt. Damn him. He knew that she had always wanted to explore them ever since that time they had gone to Greece and they had stumbled upon them. It had been impossible to get permission to explore then, though, and he must have pulled a lot of strings to get them consent to now.

"Are you serious?"

"Darling, I'm always Sirius," he teased, striding toward her slowly and wrapping his arms around her. "I thought it'd be a nice little honeymoon for the two of us…"

"Honeymoon?"

"Of course," he continued, as if he had never heard her, "since they said for us to be down there on Monday, that would mean that we'd have to get married tomorrow."

She stared up at him as he smiled down at her. "Married?" she repeated softly.

He bent down and pressed his lips lightly against her own. "We never had a chance to get married before." He pushed her hair from her face and cupped her cheeks gently. "I want to marry you now, Hermione Granger."

"Oh geez, say yes already."

Hermione laughed as Harry came up beside them, a plate of biscuits in his hand. "Biscuit?" he inquired pleasantly, grinning at his glaring godfather.

When Sirius went to smack him, Hermione caught his hand, gaining his attention once more. "Yes," she said, "I would like to marry you."

Sirius let out a whoop loud enough to catch everyone's attention in the room as he picked her up and swung her around. He latched onto her lips, kissing her amongst the loud cheers of the people in the vicinity.

"Does this mean I don't have to go to any more of the presentations?" Harry said, popping a biscuit into his mouth.

Hermione laughed, reaching round to hug her best friend. "You're off the hook this time, Harry." She pinched his arm playfully.

"Good," he said, "I'm going home." And before they could say anything, he apparated away.

Sirius laughed at the look on Hermione's face, and wrapped his arm around her waist. "Come on, darling," he said, pulling her into his side, "we have a wedding to plan."

**AmAyAtHeGrEaTcAnTbElIeVeThIsIsOvEr**

Hermione leaned back in the rocker and smiled as six year old Lilith took after the eight year old twins, Max and Quentin. The twins had apparently taken her doll from her and she was determined to get it back. Hermione felt just a pang of sympathy for the boys when Lilith finally caught up with them. She was just like her grandmother in that aspect.

The large crowd of people before her gathered every year on this date. They would meet in Hermione and Sirius' large backyard, wielding large containers of food and drinks along with them. Though most of them were not related by blood, they still considered each other family.

Hermione smiled as she caught sight of Harry surrounded by his grandchildren, Lily, and James. His hands were flying as he told an animated story; she was almost positive that he was telling the story of his first Quidditch match at Hogwarts. He always loved telling that story.

Harry's wife, Rebecca, was over with Declan and Rachel. The two had married shortly after Rachel's graduation from Hogwarts and had been happily in love since. Rachel had her husband wrapped around her finger still after all these years.

Remus and Lauri were some ways off, lazily swinging on the old swing hanging from two sturdy branches of a tree. Lauri's arm was wrapped securely around his shoulders as he leaned against her. He tired more easily nowadays. His lythancropy was becoming harder for him to handle at his age, most of his scars now hidden amongst the well-earned wrinkles.

Lucius had remained unmarried. He, however, was far from lonely. After Hermione gave birth to her first child, Nikolas, he had become a fixture at their household. He doted on the boy, and then, when she had her second child, Adara, he spoiled her rotten to the point where both Sirius and Hermione had threatened to ban him from the house. He hadn't stopped after that, merely became positively Slytherin with his tactics.

He now stood with Adara's youngest, Lilith. The little girl had retrieved her doll from the boys and was now playing happily with the last of the Malfoy line. He was an honorary 'Grandpy' to her, a fact which Sirius was quite jealous about.

Hermione frowned as she thought about the only one missing from the gathering. Severus had died only three months prior. His severe countenance had softened over the years, not much granted, but the young children constantly calling him 'Sevie' had worn him down slightly.

Though he had never admitted it, Hermione was sure that his favourite had been Nik's oldest daughter, Maggie. The girl had taken his death particularly hard. Severus had taught her everything he knew about potions when he saw her aptitude for the subject. Since his death, she had thrown herself into her career, becoming a slight hermit like Severus' himself. Hermione spotted her now over by the small flower garden with a Potion's book in her hand.

Hermione closed her eyes and leaned her head back, enjoying the feel of the sun's heat against her skin. She was a lot older now and could appreciate how everything had turned out. No longer did she wonder whether she had made the right choice in changing the future. This future was certainly one worth living for.

A hand fell down on her shoulder and rubbed it lightly before removing it as the owner moved to sit in the vacant rocker beside her. She turned to smile at Sirius, still looking as handsome as ever even at his age. His once smooth skin was wrinkled with age, a few small scars here and there as testament to his hard work. Hermione had talked him into cutting his shagging hair about five years back when he had finally gave in and let the grey take over.

Her own hair was starting to turn grey. She had cut her own hair about ten years back and now kept it right at her shoulders, the bountiful curls now manageable. The scar running down the length of her cheek was still as prominent as ever, but it was a part of her.

"Hello darling."

Sirius smiled, reaching out to brush his thumb across her cheek. "Hello love." He leaned back in his own chair, rocking. He caught Jamie, Harry's grandson, in his arms as he tried to run past, ruffling the hereditary messy black hair playfully before the little boy managed to escape with a laugh.

Hermione watched the seen with a smile, chuckling softly as Sirius leaned back once more in the rocker with a hearty laugh as he watched the little boy run off. "It's great to have everyone together like this," she commented, drawing his attention to her.

"It is," he agreed, reaching out and wrapping his hand around hers. "Happy birthday, love."

Hermione smiled at him before turning to look out at everyone gathered in their backyard. Once more she thought about the past and how it could have turned out. Sometimes she was afraid that she would wake up and find that it was all a dream, but as she looked at all their friends sitting there, still alive with their own thriving families after all these years, she knew that she would always find hope in the promise of tomorrow.

_Fin_

**Alas, it is over. Thank you to everyone that stuck with me for the extended amount of time it took me to do this trilogy. I'm sorry it has taken me so long. I'm going to post my new story soon, When the Moon Howls, as well as a oneshot, Haunted. **

**Much love, as always,**

**MiZZ AmAyA**


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